In the 2023 season, alongside the intense matches of domestic leagues and the two annual international tournaments of the League of Legends (LoL) which are MSI and the World Championship, fans also have the ASIAD to look forward to. This is the first Asian Games where Esports has the opportunity to compete for medals as an official sport. Therefore, attention is heightened, especially towards the two regions LCK and LPL.
Before the main event at the end of the year, currently, teams must compete in a tournament called the Warm-Up ASIAD. Although this is a preseason tournament, it only serves to determine seeding between regions. For some regions, this can be seen as a tournament for newly assembled teams to gain experience. However, for others, this tournament does not provide much benefit.
The evidence lies in the fact that the LCK – one of the two regions with the strongest League of Legends scene and considered a top candidate for the gold medal, has refused to participate in this ASIAD warm-up tournament. Meanwhile, LPL only sent Team WE (WE), currently competing in the LPL, to represent them. The WE players will compete in both tournaments simultaneously.
Although they brought a secondary roster, WE still proved to be overwhelmingly strong compared to the rest, even when facing representatives from Hong Kong – where some players compete in LPL or mid-tier leagues, such as YSKM (currently playing for Invictus Gaming). In fact, in one match, the representative from the densely populated area was leading the opponent by 13k gold even before the match concluded.
Witnessing their team being so dominant over their opponents, LPL fans also feel concerned and question the necessity of this tournament. However, there are also opinions justifying the need for such a Warm-Up Round: it is the rule of traditional sports. No matter how powerful regions like LPL or LCK are, they must also be treated fairly, equal to other teams. Prioritization may apply at MSI or the World Championship, but it is not suitable for an official tournament like ASIAD.
Nevertheless, the matches in the Warm-Up Round are very suitable for smaller teams, such as Vietnam. Even though they may not compete directly in Macau, this is a great opportunity for SofM and his team to piece together their roster and find the most suitable names to be the backbone for the upcoming ASIAD journey.