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Along with seven other esports titles, Arena of Valor has been included in the Asian Games 2022 at Hangzhou, Zhejiang, China, as a medal event.
The Asian Games, also known as Asiad, is a continental multi-sport event held every four years among athletes from all over Asia. The event has been one of the biggest sporting events in the world, second only to the Olympics, since the Asian Games 1951, hosted by New Delhi, India.
While the Asian Games 2018, hosted by Jakarta, Indonesia, introduced esports, they were demonstration events, and hence the medals didn’t count towards the final tally. However, for the upcoming Asian Games 2022, the Olympic Council of Asia (OCA) has decided to include eight esports titles under the disciplinary, with two additional demonstration titles.
What is Arena of Valor?
Arena of Valor is a multiplayer online battle arena developed by TiMi Studio Group and published by Tencent Games for Android, iOS, and Nintendo Switch. The game has found popularity in the Asian market, including China, Japan, Thailand, Indonesia.
The 5v5 ranked match, better known as Grand Battle, where the Players are tasked with destroying the enemy's turrets on the map and securing objectives such as killing Abyssal Dragon and Dark Slayer, with the victory condition being to destroy the enemy's core. An average match lasts for about 12 - 18 minutes.
There are a total of 108 heroes in Arena of Valor to choose from, and the heroes are further categorized into one of six classes, depending on the playstyle. They are,
- Marksmen - the ranged heroes that usually deal physical damage mostly through their auto-attack.
- Mages - Mages are a mix of ranged heroes, which deal damage from afar, or melee heroes, which deal damage from close distances
- Assassin - the heroes that are designed to deal large amounts of damage quickly, and often do not have much health
- Tanks - the heroes that have large amounts of HP and usually build completely defensive to be able to soak damage for the team
- Warrior - Heroes that blend the attributes of damage dealer and tank, combining moderate survivability with respectable damage
- Support - Heroes whose abilities aid the rest of the team by providing healing, buffing allies, debuffing the enemy team.
The esports leagues of Arena of Valor
Over the years, the Arena of Valor has built up a thriving esports community in and across the Asian continental region. Besides the small and medium independent tournaments, Arena of Valor has two major international tournaments, AIC and AWC, organized by Tencent.
1) Arena of Valor International Championship
The Arena of Valor International Championship, more commonly called AIC, is one of the two major annual international Arena of Valor tournaments. The AIC 2020 main event took place between November 19 and December 20, 2020, with a massive $500,000/- USD prize pool. MAD Teams won the 2020 titles as Saigon Phantom was the first runner-up.
2) Arena of Valor World Cup
The Arena of Valor World Cup (AWC), alongside AIC, is one of Tencent's major Arena of Valor tournaments. However, while organizers represent teams in AIC, AWC teams represent their respective countries. The Arena of Valor World Cup 2021 took place between June 19 and July 18, 2021, with a total prize pool of $500,000/- USD. The dtac Talon Esports took the title for Thailand.
The future of Arena of Valor esports, and its inclusion in the Asian Games 2022
The Arena of Valor esports is expanding at a brisk pace. There is a massive player base in South-Asian countries such as Vietnam, Indonesia, and Thailand and other Asian countries like Taiwan, China, and Japan.
With its wide range of popularity amongst the Asian countries, Arena of Valor makes sense as one of the top choices for being included under the esports discipline. Furthermore, the game’s ease of access and low spec requirements makes it quite approachable.
It would certainly be interesting to see which country takes the medal at Arena of Valor, at the upcoming Asian Games 2022.
