The Indian contingent for League of Legends dominated their way to victory in Central and South Asia seeding event for the upcoming Asian Games by defeating Sri Lanka, Kazakhstan, and Kyrgyzstan. The world witnessed a spectacular display of skills and teamwork in all three games that the Indian contingent played. They now look forward to going all guns blazing into the 19th Asian Games and defeat the other teams in China's Hangzhou. This year's Asian Games will be a bit different than the previous ones, with Esports making its debut at the tournament.
Team India kicked off its tally for the win by defeating Sri Lanka and Kazakhstan by a score of 2-0 in a best-of-three match set. It then defeated Kyrgyzstan by the same score with the same ease as it did with the last two teams. The Indian team comprised Samarth Arvind Trivedi (CrankO), Mihir Ranjan (Lotus), Sanindhya Malik (Deadcorp), Aakash Shandilya (Infi), Aditya Selvaraj (Crow) and it was led by Akshaj Shenoy (Kai).
After winning against all three nations, Team Captain Shenoy said, "It feels amazing to have secured a favourable seeding for the Asian Games 2022 in such a dominating fashion. Each of the victories is a testament to the countless hours of practice and strategy planning it has taken for our team to reach this point. Our journey till now has been remarkable and we are fully prepared to face any challenge that comes our way. We want to extend our sincere gratitude to ESFI for providing us with this wonderful opportunity and we will make sure to leave no stone unturned in our quest to secure a podium finish at the Asian Games."
Having made their way to the Asian Games by defeating the top teams of Asia in the National Esports Championships (NESC) organised by the Esports Federation of India (ESFI), the Indian team has made a point that they won't shy away from showing their might. They have firmly established themselves as the team to watch out for in the highly anticipated tournament.
Director of Esports Federation of India & Vice President of the Asian Esports Federation (AESF), Lokesh Suji, said, "Team India's scintillating performances in the League of Legends seeding event is a sign of what is to come in Hangzhou. We are not only proud to witness their achievements but are also confident that they will make India proud on the international stage against the leading teams from Asia."
The Asian Games tournament will feature 19 renowned League of Legends teams from the Asian continent. They will battle for glory at what will be Esports’ debut as an official medal event at the tournament. All matches that will be played till the finals of the tournament will be in the Best of 3 format while the gold medal and bronze medal matches will be contested in the Best of 5 format.
The tournament will hold seven official Esports events viz. Arena of Valor Asian Games Version, Dota 2, Dream Three Kingdoms 2, FIFA Online 4, League of Legends, PUBG Mobile Asian Games Version, Street Fighter V: Champion Edition. The Indian team will be participating in four titles viz. DOTA 2, FIFA Online 4, League of Legends, and Street Fighter V: Champion Edition.