Team game League of Legends will be one of six esports titles debuting at the 2018 Asian Games, the council of the Asian Olympic Games announced on Monday.
The other five titles will be Arena of Valor, Pro Evolution Soccer 2018, to be held as team events, and Hearthstone, Clash Royale and Starcraft II, to be held as individual events.
The Asian Games is one of the largest multi-sport events in the world, held every four years since 1954. This will be the first time esports will be included, but will be demonstration events only and thus will not count toward total medal count.
Riot Games will work with the Olympic Council of Asia and its member nations to organize a tournament and format for selecting the teams that will represent each nation.
"We're honored that League of Legends was selected for the Asian Games," Riot's co-head of esports Jarred Kennedy said. "Representing one's country at the Olympics is a dream for athletes around the world, and with this step, that dream is one step closer to reality for the best in our sport."
A total of 45 nations will take part in the Regional Qualifiers in June, where each nation will be invited to field their own representative team of five players. These qualifiers will narrow the participant pool to eight teams.
Indonesia, the host nation, will receive an automatic invitation. The other teams will be determined by qualifiers: one each from the Southeast, South, Central and West Asia regions, and three from the East Asia region.
The finalists will come together for the Games in Jakarta in late August.
