A total of 27 countries and regions competed in the Asian Games South Asia Qualifiers which were held from June 6 to 20, 2018. StarCraft II and Hearthstone took the form of online matches while Arena of Valor and the Clash Royale qualifiers were conducted offline in Hong Kong, China. For League of Legends, the South Asia and Southeast Asia qualifiers were held in Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam.

The Sri Lankan national team took part in the South Asia qualifier and showed a strong performance against the other South Asian Esports countries. These are the results for Sri Lanka at the Asian Games qualifiers for 2018

StarCraft II

StarCraft was a best of 3 round robin with the winner receiving one point and the defeated receiving no points

Sri Lanka took on Maldives and Pakistan in this South Asia qualifier round and with a dominant performance coming out from Amruth “Amypie” Alfred who bested both the  participants from their respected countries securing a spot for the Asian Games 2018. Amruth will be travelling to Indonesia in August to represent Sri Lanka at the Asian Games Esports Championship!

HearthStone

Hearthstone was a best of 5 round robin stage where the winner received one point and the defeated receive no points at all.

Sri lanka’s Rameshkumar Uthyakumar took on the representatives from India and Pakistan in the South Asian qualifier round managing to beat Pakistan but ultimately coming in second to India who triumphed against Sri lanka as well as Pakistan to earn them a spot through the qualifier.

Pro Evolution Soccer 18

Pro Evolution Soccer was a best of 3 1v1 followed by a 2v2 and concluded on another 1v1. Winner receiving 1 point and the defeated receiving no points.

Sri lanka’s dynamic duo of Mohamed Mufeeb and Shihab Rizan took on the representatives from Maldives and India during the Pro Evolution Soccer 18 qualifiers showing promise but not being able to defeat Maldives or India during the qualifier placing 3rd in the South Asia qualifier

League of Legends

League of Legends was a best of 1 double round robin with the winner receiving 1 point and the defeated receiving no points.

The South Asia bracket consisted of Sri Lanka, India, Pakistan, Maldives and Nepal during the qualifiers. The Sri lankan team consisting of Hilal Jismy, Achintha Konara, Ashik Saleeth, Shalitha Chandraratne and Akthar Hafeez fought valiantly and managed to best most of the countries taking part but fell short against Pakistan. Sri Lanka ended up tied for second place with India with Pakistan remaining undefeated during the qualifier which solidified their spot at the Asian Games 2018.

Clash Royale

Clash Royale was a best of 5 round robin stage where the winner received one point and the defeated receive no points at all.

Sri lanka’s Joel “Daniel” Joung took on representatives from India, Pakistan and Maldives during this South Asian qualifier for Clash Royale with Sri Lanka managing to get ahead during the initial match but falling short later to earn 1 point in the bracket defeating Pakistan. India came out on top with Maldives in second, placing Sri lanka in third place during the South Asian qualifier..

“With the support of NOCs, the Indonesia Asian Games Organising Committee, member Esports federations and other supporters, we are delighted the Qualifier Competitions were smoothly carried out,” said Mr Kenneth Fok, AESF President. “Again, we are grateful for OCA’s commitment to include Esports as a demonstration event at the 2018 Asian Games.”

Source:

AESF announced results of the Regional Qualifier Competitions for the Asian Games 2018
https://www.aesf.com/news.html?w=news8

Following up on our breakdown of Esports taking place at the Asian Games 2018, we take a closer look at Hearthstone on a competitive stage at the Asian Games.

What is Hearthstone

The game is a turn-based card game between two opponents, using constructed decks of 30 cards along with a selected hero with a unique power. Players use their limited mana crystals to play abilities or summon minions to attack the opponent, with the goal of reducing the opponent’s health to zero. Winning matches and completing quests earn in-game gold, rewards in the form of new cards, and other in-game prizes. Players can then buy packs of new cards through gold or microtransactions to customize and improve their decks. The game features several modes of play, including casual and ranked matches, as well as single-player adventures. New content for the game involves the addition of new card sets and gameplay, taking the form of either expansion packs or adventures that reward the player with collectible cards upon completion.

Sri Lankan Representative Rameshkumar Uthayakumar

Rameshkumar Uthyakumar is a Hearthstone enthusiast who is a veteran at the game. With Hearthstone having a variable amount of decks that can be built, the competition will always be tough; having a range of a minimum of 6 classes with different card combinations the task seems daunting. That won’t stop Rameshkumar from putting in his best effort to secure a place for his nation as he has been training rigorously to perfect his skill at the game.

We had a few moments to catch up with Rameshkumar and this is what he had to say.

“I’m honoured to represent my country at the Asian Games 2018. It is a dream come true taking part in a competition of this magnitude. Esports being introduced in an Olympic standard is the way forward, hope to see Esports during the Olympics in the near future too.”

With all the time and dedication that Rameshkumar has put into polishing his skills, he hopes to claim a spot for Sri Lanka at the qualifier while also testing his mettle at an international standard.

We wish Rameshkumar the best of luck at the qualifiers, with the knowledge that he will do his country proud employing his skill at Hearthstone.

Following up on our breakdown of Esports taking place at the Asian Games 2018, with titles such as Pro Evolution Soccer (PES), League of Legends,Starcraft II, Hearthstone, Clash Royale and Arena of Valor, which are all on display as demonstrational titles, we take a closer look at Clash Royale on a competitive stage at the Asian Games.

In Clash Royale, players are ranked by their trophy count. Players level up by gaining Experience (or King Level) points through donating and/or upgrading cards. The highest possible level is level 13.

Trophies are won or lost through multiplayer battles, a player wins a battle by destroying more towers than the opponent (each destroyed tower being represented as a ‘crown’), or by destroying the opponent’s King’s Tower, resulting in an automatic “three-crown” victory (unless the King’s Tower was destroyed at the same time by both players, resulting in a draw).

Playable units, buildings, and spells are represented as cards. Prior to each battle , players construct a deck of eight cards which they use to attack and defend against their opponent’s cards. At the start of each game, both players begin with four randomly chosen cards from their deck of eight.

Each card costs a certain amount of elixir to play. Players start the battle with 5 elixir points, and one elixir point is replenished every 2.8 seconds,with a maximum of 10 elixir points. Once a card is played, a new card is automatically drawn from the player’s eight card deck.

As of June? 2018 there are 84 cards in the game, coming in four rarities: Common, Rare, Epic, and Legendary, with Legendary being the rarest.

Joel “Daniel” Joung has been at the top of Sri Lanka’s Clash Royale leaderboard ever since its introduction, establishing a name as one of the most feared and respected players of the game. Joel will rightfully be donning the national jersey to take on a higher skill bracket at the Asian Games with a shot at showcasing his true skill and talent whilst representing Sri Lanka.

We had a moment to have a chat with Joel and this is what he had to say;

“As the Asian Games is Asia’s biggest multi sport event i would expect talented and gifted players from multiple nations to participate in this event. As this is such a huge event, I don’t have high expectations of winning, however i would expect all games to be legendary and highly skilled.

Esports being introduced by the Asian Games is definitely one of the best choices made by the organisers as Esports is also similar to a normal sport. Esports requires talent,skill and practice which only a few will achieve in a very high level. Therefore Asian games has made a wonderful choice introducing Esports”

Joel has been consistently proving himself as a name to be feared on the Sri Lankan Clash Royale grounds, will he be able to establish the same dominance on an international stage? We hope his training will pay dividends, whilst wishing him the best of luck in his endeavors at the qualifiers on the 18th of June 2018.

About StarCraft II

StarCraft II: Wings of Liberty is the long-awaited sequel to the original StarCraft, Blizzard Entertainment’s critically acclaimed sci-fi real-time strategy game. StarCraft II: Wings of Liberty is both a challenging single-player game and a fast-paced multiplayer game.

StarCraft II: Wings of Liberty was designed so that players can learn the basics with ease; you’ll be building bases and commanding armies in no time. StarCraft II is a strategy game played in real-time. You see the action from a top-down perspective and command your armies to gain control of the battlefield and ultimately defeat your opponents. The game’s single-player campaign focuses on the Terrans, but you can play multiplayer matches as any of the three StarCraft II races: the Terrans, the Protoss, or the Zerg.

Each race has access to unique units; these units fill specific roles on the battlefield. Combining different units to form versatile armies is one path to victory.

The most basic units at your command are your workers. They harvest the resources you need to expand your base and to add more units to your growing army, and your workers also create new buildings. More advanced units become available once your base meets certain requirements, such as having constructed certain buildings or researched certain technologies.

In multiplayer matches, you win the game when you’ve wiped all your enemy’s buildings off the map or if the other players surrender to you.

Sri Lankan Representative Amruth Alfred

Amruth “AmyPie” Alfred is a StarCraft II enthusiast who has been training vigorously over the past 3 months to solidify a top spot for Sri Lanka at the Asian Games where the StarCraft II qualifiers kick off today, the 15th of June 2018. Catching up with Amruth, this is what he had to say about Esports being introduced as a demonstrative sport as well as his expectations for the StarCraft II qualifiers.

“I think it’s amazing that Esports is being recognized on larger and larger scales, this is something that’s needed to educate people on Esports, it’s not just sitting in front of a computer and pressing buttons, its much more. Being introduced into an Olympic event gives it the recognition it deserves, and allows players to develop their potential instead of being shunned away from gaming. As for my expectations, I only started StarCraft 2 around 3 months ago, but I have a strong passion towards it so I have been constantly learning and practicing, and this allowed me to rapidly increase my skill level. Still, the players in this tournament, on average, have been playing for years, so it will be a tough competition, but I’m sure I can give a good game at the very least.

We wish Amruth “AmyPie” Alfred the best of luck knowing that he will do his country proud with the effort he has put into StarCraft II.

• Regional qualifiers held online, kicks off today, the 12th of June 2018 at the Ultra Gaming Colombo café in Maradana.
• Mohamed Mufeeb and Shihab Rizan will be donning the responsibilities of the two representatives from Sri Lanka for PES, both carrying experience in both Pro Evolution Soccer as well as FIFA.
• Dialog Axiata PLC, Sri Lanka’s first connectivity provider to launch a mobile gaming platform, aims to empower the local pro-gaming community by powering cyber athletes to represent Sri Lanka in the Asian Games 2018.

With the introduction of eSports as a demonstrational title in the upcoming Asian Games 2018, we take a look at one of the titles that was picked up; “Pro Evolution Soccer”, which is a series of football video games developed and published by Konami. For those who do not know about Pro Evolution Soccer, there will invariably be comparisons drawn between it and the more mainstream FIFA, the main differences being the mechanics on the pitch, which are regarded as being more satisfactory on PES, along with the licensing, where FIFA is undoubtedly the king.

The regional qualifiers for the PES tournament, which will be held online, kicks off today, the 12th of June 2018 at the Ultra Gaming Colombo café in Maradana. With the stage set, the players geared and ready to go, it all lies in the hands of the players as we anticipate a good outcome from the matches. While the stakes will always be high when representing your motherland, these players have put a lot of effort into making it as the representatives for Sri Lanka and we can expect to see a lot of entertaining and nail-biting action in the upcoming qualifiers.

Dialog Axiata PLC, Sri Lanka’s first connectivity provider to launch a mobile gaming platform, aims to empower the local pro-gaming community by powering cyber athletes to represent Sri Lanka in the Asian Games 2018. Recognizing the potential and growth for cyber athletes in the country,  Dialog continues to spearhead eSports and support the community to challenge global gamers on international platforms.

Supun Jayasinghe (Product Manager-Gaming Services) Dialog Axiata PLC, had this to say with regards to Dialog’s vision on eSports;

“Dialog Gaming’s vision is to create the No.1 gaming experience and propel the future of eSports in the country. As the main sponsor of the teams, we hope to provide opportunity for talent within the country.” He added, “Dialog Gaming currently connects Sri Lankans to the largest mobile gaming platform, and we are certain the future of eSports will be a cyber athlete receiving an equivalent recognition to that of an athlete.”

Mohamed Mufeeb and Shihab Rizan will be donning the responsibilities of the two representatives from Sri Lanka for PES, both carrying experience in both Pro Evolution Soccer as well as FIFA, these players are no pushovers and have been training endlessly for a chance at glory and making their country proud. Having taken part in many of the tournaments held here in Sri Lanka, these players are no strangers to competing at the highest level of play. Will their determination and tenacity be enough to help them secure a spot at the Asian Games 2018?

With the tremendous amount of hours and practice these players have put in we wish both of them the best of luck at the qualifiers and hope that they prove to themselves and to their country that they have what it takes to reach the top.

Find out what the players had to say in the video below:

The Olympic Council of Asia is organizing the 18th edition of the Asian Games in 2018 which will be hosted in Palembang and Bandung, Jakarta.

The following eSports titles have been confirmed for this year’s event where eSports is being included as a demonstration title : Pro Evolution Soccer (PES), League of Legends,Starcraft II, Hearthstone, Clash Royale and Arena of Valor.

The Asian Games are a multi-sport event held every four years, much like the Olympic Games, but confined to the region of Asia. It is recognized by the International Olympic Committee as the second largest event of its kind, second only to the Olympic Games themselves. This is a historic moment as eSports athletes from Sri Lanka compete for the first time at a major mainstream sporting event such as the Asian Games.

With the stage set and the teams preparing, we take a look at our very own Sri Lankan League of Legends team, as they gear up for what seems to be a pivotal stride into the future as the light finally shines on eSports at an Olympic level. With players who have reached the pinnacle of League of Legends here in Sri Lanka, such as Hilal Jismy, Achintha Konara, Ashik Saleeth, Shalitha Chandraratne and Akthar Hafeez included in the roster we can look forward to some epic action as they strive to make their mark and live the experience of a lifetime on an international platform such as at the Asian Games 2018.

Dialog Axiata PLC, Sri Lanka’s first connectivity provider to launch a mobile gaming platform, aims to empower the local pro-gaming community by powering cyber athletes to represent Sri Lanka in the Asian Games 2018. Recognizing the potential and growth for cyber athletes in the country,  Dialog continues to spearhead eSports and support the community to challenge global gamers on international platforms.

Commenting on Dialog’s vision to power eSports in Sri Lanka Supun Jayasinghe (Product Manager-Gaming Services), Dialog Axiata PLC said,

“Dialog Gaming’s vision is to create the No.1 gaming experience and propel the future of eSports in the country. As the main sponsor of the teams, we hope to provide opportunity for talent within the country.” He added, “Dialog Gaming currently connects Sri Lankans to the largest mobile gaming platform, and we are certain the future of esports will be a cyber athlete receiving an equivalent recognition to that of an athlete.”

We took this moment of calm before the storm of the competition breaks out, to catch up with Ashik “Ash” Saleeth,one of the best players of League of Legends here in Sri Lanka, about what we can expect from him and his team at the Asian Games as they face some of the best teams in the region and his take on eSports taking a step forward into Olympic standard.

“Honestly, I am more than excited for the opportunity I’ve received to test my gameplay on international grounds, about recognition; I couldn’t be happier that something that was so underrated a few years back is finally receiving its proper stature. We did run into few adjustments on the roster for unavoidable reasons but overall, I have complete faith in my team, they will contribute their best effort and will definitely strive for nothing less than victory on the international stage.

As a player representing the country, I want to win as far as I can possibly compete for. On a personal aspect I am here to showcase my skill, my gameplay and push through whoever stands in my way. Simply putting in an insane amount of hours to the game as one team instead of 5 individuals. Improvements in synergy is mostly all we needed since the team consists of some of the best players the country could offer.” – Ashik “Ash” Saleeth

We leave the Lankan team to their preparations, knowing that they will undoubtedly display the raw skill they are known for in Sri Lanka, proving on the international stage that Sri Lankan talent is ready to face the global eSports challenges