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Favorites, underdogs and pretenders alike were all given a glimpse of what to come at for Esports at the 19th Asian Games in Hangzhou following the teams' draw held at the Esports Press Operations Office in Hangzhou earlier today. 

Preceded with opening speeches by the AESF's Director General, Mr. Sebastian Lau and Technical Director of Esports at Hangzhou 19th Asian Games, Mr. Steve Kim, competing Esports athletes finally have a clearer picture on what stands between them and their quest for gold. For the first time ever at the Asian Games, Esports events will be contested as medal events following its introduction as Demonstration Games at the Jakarta Asian Games in 2018. 

Seven gold medals will be on the line, across seven Esports titles at the 19th Hangzhou Asian Games. They are: 

1. Street Fighter V,
2. EA Sports FC Online,
3. Dream of Three Kingdoms 2,
4. DOTA 2,
5. League of Legends,
6. Arena of Valor Asian Games Version; and
7. Peace Elite (Asian Games Version).

With Mr. Lau, Mr. Kim and AESF Vice-President Mr. Lokesh Suji alternating roles in randomly picking country names from the pool, the biggest gasp came from the League of Legends portion of the draw, where giants South Korea were drawn into Group A of the Group Stages which in turn, sets up a potentially blockbuster meetup with hosts China. While this prevents a dream final for the League of Legends scene, it allows an earlier glimpse of two powerhouses of the LoL scene.

DOTA 2 may also provide some interesting storylines and early clashes of the favorites with Team Malaysia being drawn to meet Team Saudi Arabia early in the quarter-finals stage. There will also be an intriguing Southeast Asian showdown for Arena of Valor as well, as both Team Philippines and Team Thailand face a 'win or go home' scenario after being the only two teams drawn into group D.

Esports at the 19th Hangzhou Asian Games starts this Sunday, 24th September with Arena of Valor and culminates on the 2nd of October with the finals for Dota 2. Held at the purpose-built esports stadium in Hangzhou which seats up to 4500 spectators, the immaculately designed arena was truly a sight to behold.

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