Asian Games 2026 esports schedule and participants

The Asian Games 2026, which will take place from September 19 to October 4 in the Aichi region of Japan, will welcome participants from the 45 countries that are members of the Olympic Council of Asia, who will compete across nearly 71 different disciplines. Among them, eleven will feature esports, including some of the most followed games in the ecosystem, such as League of Legends, Honor of Kings, and Mobile Legends: Bang Bang.

Thus, between September 23 and October 2, the eleven games will take place at Aichi Sky Expo, the region's airport venue located in the suburbs of Nagoya, Aichi Prefecture. As a result, nearly 30 nations are currently set to participate across the different games, with some receiving direct invitations while others had to go through qualifiers. Japan is, of course, an exception. As the host country, it was technically invited across all eleven disciplines but withdrew from some games, including League of Legends, while also not fielding teams in MLBB, Honor of Kings and Naraka: Bladepoint.

Among other notable absences, China will not compete in League of Legends, despite winning the event in 2018, when LoL made its first appearance at the Asian Games, and finishing second in the 2022 edition, which was held in China. The absence has not yet been fully explained, especially as China will send a team to the Esports Nations Cup, which is scheduled to take place a few weeks later.

Some formats are also worth noting, particularly in eFootball, where nations will have to send one player for the Mobile version and one for the PC version, with the two players competing together in a team format to fight for a medal. In fighting games, only one medal will also be awarded, with a team competition featuring one player for each of the three games: Street Fighter 6, Tekken 8 and The King of Fighters XV.

Exactly 31 different nations will therefore travel to Japan next September, solely for esports. In this ranking, Hong Kong comes out on top, with a presence in ten of the eleven disciplines and only one miss, with no participation in PUBG Mobile. More surprisingly, Malaysia takes second place in this ranking of the most represented nations, having only failed to qualify for Puyo Puyo Champions and the Fighting Games. South Korea has the same result but is absent from two different games, Mobile Legends: Bang Bang and Naraka: Bladepoint.

Indonesia and Vietnam complete the Top 5 with eight participations each and one common absence in the Fighting Games. They are then respectively absent from Puyo Puyo Champions and League of Legends, and from the other, Pokémon UNITE and Mobile Legends: Bang Bang. Japan, the host nation, is just below them, with seven participants and absences in MLBB, Naraka: Bladepoint, Honor of Kings, and LoL. Also notably absent from Riot Games' MOBA, China has only four participants. Cambodia, Laos, and Syria share the last place with just one game each, respectively, in MLBB, Honor of Kings, and the Fighting Games.