National Esports Championships 2022 to begin on April 18

National Esports Championships 2022 (NESC ’22) to select India's team for Asian Games, will kickstart today (April 18) and it will continue till April 24.

Esports has been added as a medal sport at the 2022 Asian Games for the first time. (Representative Image)

National Esports Championships 2022 (NESC ’22) to select India's team for Asian Games, will kickstart today (April 18) and it will continue till April 24.

The NESC ’22, under the ‘AESF Road to Asian Games’ program, will be conducted for five popular Esports titles—DOTA 2, Hearthstone, FIFA22, Street Fighter V, and League of Legends.

More than 200 top esports athletes have registered from all over the country.

Esports has been added as a medal sport at the 2022 Asian Games for the first time as the best performers of the NESC ’22 will get the opportunity to represent the country at the event.

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“I am really excited for the NESC ’22. I know all of us have been practicing and preparing at our best, and I am sure that whoever goes on to represent India at the Asian Games will aim for a podium finish this time” said Tirth Mehta, who had clinched bronze medal at 2018 Asian Games, where Esports was played as a demonstration event.

The event will be conducted online, owing to the COVID-19 pandemic, with the top athletes from across the country competing and showcasing their skills and strategies.

DOTA 2 and League of Legends will see participation of 13 and four teams respectively with veteran athletes like Jeet Rajesh Kundra, Moin Ejaz and Samarth Trivedi will be seen competing.

On the other hand, single-player titles Hearthstone, FIFA22, Street Fighter V has will witness participation of 13, 60 and 16 athletes respectively as top stars including Tirth Mehta (Hearthstone), Siddh Chandarana and Lokmanyu (FIFA22) and Aditya Verma (SFV) will look to seal themselves Asian Games berth.

“Its great opportunity provided by ESFI to all athletes to give their best and earn a chance to represent India at Asian Games 2022. Being a professional FIFA player myself, it’s my dream like many others to win medal for the country and I’m looking forward to NESC ’22,” added popular Fifa athlete Lokmanyu.

Aditya Mehta aka TheDarklord from Street Fighter V expressed his excitement and said "This is the biggest and the most important qualifier in the history of the Indian Fighting Game Community for SFV, it's about time to give it all! Shout out to ESFI for giving us this incredible opportunity."

Further details around national qualifiers are available on ESFI Discord server: https://discord.gg/esf