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China takes first esports gold at the Asian Games in Arena of Valor
China crushed Chinese Taipei in the Asian Games finals as esports take another step towards inclusion at major sporting events
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This article originally appeared on ABACUS
The tears running down their faces told the story.
As Team China received their gold medals for Arena of Valor at the Asian Games, that reaction suggested that they didn’t care that esports was only a demonstration sport here. Their emotion showed how much it meant to them… and to esports as a whole.
The 2018 Asian Games in Jakarta mark another step forward for the inclusion of esports at traditional sporting events. Earlier this year, there was an esports event at the sidelines of the Winter Olympics in South Korea -- but it wasn’t an official event. This time it was official as a demonstration sport, traditionally seen as the pathway to becoming part of the main games.
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The Asian Games esports event consisted of five different games: Arena of Valor, Hearthstone, League of Legends, StarCraft II, Clash Royale and Pro Evolution Soccer 2018.
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And it should probably come as no surprise that China came out on top of Arena of Valor. That’s the international name for Honor of Kings, a mobile MOBA made in China that’s become the country’s most popular game, boasting 200 million monthly players.
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