Sports Press

Asian Games Esports Runs 23 September to 2 October With 11 Medal Events and Malaysia Qualified in Nine

Aichi-Nagoya 2026 keeps esports as a medal sport across 13 titles and 11 events at Aichi Sky Expo. Hong Kong qualified in ten disciplines, Malaysia and South Korea in nine, and the host nation skipped four.

The 20th Asian Games run 19 September to 4 October in Aichi-Nagoya, and esports competition runs 23 September to 2 October at Aichi Sky Expo. Esports keeps full medal status, with 11 medal events across 13 game titles.

The titles

Event
League of Legends Mobile Legends: Bang Bang
Honor of Kings PUBG Mobile
Naraka: Bladepoint Pokemon Unite
eFootball Identity V
Gran Turismo 7 Puyo Puyo Champions
Competitive Martial Arts Street Fighter 6, Tekken 8, King of Fighters XV

The martial arts event folds three fighting games into a single medal, awarded to a team of three players. eFootball combines mobile and PC players in one team format.

Who qualified

Around 31 of the Olympic Council of Asia's 45 members will compete. Qualification tournaments were held in Ho Chi Minh City, Kuala Lumpur and Singapore.

Nation Disciplines qualified
Hong Kong 10 of 11
Malaysia 9
South Korea 9
Vietnam 8
Indonesia 8

Malaysia qualifying in nine of eleven events puts it level with South Korea and ahead of every other Southeast Asian nation bar the region's mobile-title specialists.

Two notable absences

Japan, the host nation, withdrew from League of Legends, Mobile Legends: Bang Bang, Honor of Kings and Naraka: Bladepoint - four of the highest-profile events on the programme. China is not competing in League of Legends despite a record of success in the title, which removes the tournament's most obvious favourite and leaves Korea as the clear front-runner.

Following it on Playdash

Playdash prices Asian Games esports with match winner, map handicap and correct-score markets on every series, plus gold medal outrights per title, medal-table specials and to-reach-the-final markets. Regional pricing follows the Southeast Asian sides across Mobile Legends, PUBG Mobile and Honor of Kings, where the qualification results suggest the medals will be closest.

Programme, dates, venue and qualification figures as reported ahead of the Games. Draws and seedings were not published at the time of writing on 25 August 2026.

Asian Games 2026 esports schedule Aichi-Nagoya 2026 esports medal events Aichi Sky Expo esports venue Malaysia esports Asian Games qualification Honor of Kings Mobile Legends Asian Games esports qualifiers Kuala Lumpur Singapore Ho Chi Minh City Playdash esports betting Playdash Asian Games esports markets