The Hangzhou Asian Games will feature esports as an official medal event for the first time, with League of Legends included as one of seven games.
On May 5, China revealed its preliminary roster that will be boot camping for the Asian Games. A total of 25 players have been selected, but only 5 (and a substitute player) will end up on the final roster.
The preliminary roster for the Chinese national team is:
- Top: 369, Breathe, Bin, Shanji, Ale
- Jungle: Tian, Aki, Xun, Wei, Jiejie
- Mid: Creme, Xiaohu, Yagao, Knight
- Bot: GALA, Lwx, Light, JackeyLove, Elk
- Support: Hang, Crisp, MISSING, ON, Ming, Meiko
Led by head coach Kenzhu, as well as assistant coaches Maokai and Arron, the selection process will be made over the upcoming months. The start date has yet to be confirmed, especially considering that some of the players included in the list, such as Elk and Knight, are currently in London for the Mid-Season Invitational.
Most of the selected players come from some of the best-performing LPL teams during the 2023 Spring Split. Below are the players divided by teams:
- EDward Gaming: Ale, Jiejie, Meiko
- LNG Esports: Hang
- JD Gaming: 369, Knight, Missing
- Royal Never Give Up: Breathe, Wei, GALA, Ming
- Weibo Gaming: Xiaohu, Light, Crisp
- Top Esports: Tian, JackeyLove
- FunPlus Phoenix: Lwx
- Oh my God: Shanji, Aki, Creme
- Bilibili Gaming: Bin, Xun, Yagao, Elk, ON
The 2022 Hangzhou Asian Games were supposed to take place last year, but the event was postponed to 2023 due to the concerns of the Covid-19 pandemic. The tournament will start on September 23 and last until October 8.
