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Olympic Council of Asia and AESF Introduces the ‘Road to Asian Games’ Campaign for 2022 Asian Games

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The Olympic Council of Asia (OCA) and Asian Electronic Sports Federation (AESF) has confirmed the introduction of the new program, ‘Road to Asian Games’ for the upcoming 2022 Asian Games. In addition, the OCA has confirmed again the appointment of the AESF as the only Technical Delegate who will take charge of all the matters of technical conduct for Esports events at the 2022 Asian Games.

The AESF will be the exclusive organizer of ‘Road to Asian Games’, the official qualifier program and competition of esports to the Asian Games final. The AESF is the first Esports federation to introduce a direct pathway, ‘Road to Asian Games,’ whereby event titles selection and confirmation will be decided by AESF and allow publishers to be part of an Olympic event such as the Asian Games. The campaign will begin in Hangzhou 2022, and with AESF to continue the organization of Esports through to Nagoya 2026, Doha 2030 and beyond. This initiative will be the first of its kind to bring fair and equal opportunities to all publishers and advance esports developments not just to Asia, but worldwide.

With Esports making its debut as a medal event at the Asian Games, the AESF ‘Road to Asian Games’ campaign will also extend beyond the competition scenes. This campaign will lay the foundation in bringing the Olympic Spirit to esports and introduce an education program for participating Esports athletes to share the Olympic Movement and Values not just in Asia, but globally. With plans for the promotion, sustainability and legacies underway, the emphasis will be on education and development in Esports. The key area of focus will be grassroots development, inclusion programs, career pathways, health and wellbeing support, as well as athlete’s rights and protection.

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The AESF is excited to accelerate the esports movement from competitive video gaming event into official sport event with the participation in the Continental Games. The AESF plans to include virtual and simulating sports to the ‘Road to Asian Games’ and finals competition as a demonstration event, which will further encourage and expand esports scope from traditional titles which are recognised as console, computer or mobile esports game events. This inclusion will also aim to encourage both sports and esports community to engage in physical activity and promote mental wellbeing.

To officialise the partnership for the ‘Road to Asian Games’ campaign and the confirmation on the roles & responsibilities of AESF, an official Signing Ceremony was held with the OCA Director General Dr. Husain A H Z Al-Musallam, OCA Director of Sports Mr. Haider A H E Farman, AESF President Mr. Kenneth Fok, and AESF Director General Mr. Sebastian Lau in attendance.

Announcing the partnership, Director General of OCA Dr. Husain AHZ Al-Musallam said “It is a great pleasure to officially announce our partnership between OCA and AESF for the new Esports program for our Asian Games and OCA will provide full support for successful Esports events at the 19th Asian Games in Hangzhou, China. We wish the best to our partner AESF on the journey ahead,” he added.

In line with this partnership, the OCA reconfirms that the AESF is the sole official governing body of esports in Asia and will be fully responsible for all technical aspect of esports competitions at Asian Games as well as any other OCA events.

“I would like to express our sincere appreciation for the continuous support and trust from the OCA. I believe that the Asian Games presents the best stage for us to share Olympic Values with Esports community and we aim to make our Esports communities develop further through this opportunity. Also, we look forward to a successful collaboration with OCA as well as LOC.” said Mr. Fok in a speech during the signing.
Disclosing AESF’s role and responsibility, OCA Director of Sports Mr. Haider A H E Farman added, “Leading up to the Asian Games, the Asian Electronic Sports Federation will have the leading role and take full responsibility in the selection of esports titles in collaboration with the OCA. From the qualifying rounds to the grand finals of each esports event, rest assured that the OCA and AESF, together with LOC will work hand-in-hand, ensuring successful esports events for the 19th Asian Games Hangzhou 2022.”

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Mr. Sebastian Lau of AESF further conveyed his gratitude during the ceremony, “As the Asian Federation, the AESF is honoured to be organizing the esports qualifiers and the Technical Delegate for the upcoming Asian Games. We will start from Hangzhou, and I am looking forward to exploring more opportunities together with all of you and make the evolution of esports further in Nagoya 2026, Doha 2030 and beyond.”

More than just an Esports event, the ‘Road to Asian Games’ and finals at the 19th Asian Games exhibits the growth of Esports from competitive gaming event to an official sport event and the AESF, with the full support of OCA and LOC, will assure the most competitive and extraordinary esports event to date.

Road to Asian Games Partnership Summary

Esports Event Title Selection
AESF will select the esports event titles to be contested for the qualifiers and finals at the 2022 Asian Game and make the final confirmation on the selected titles in collaboration with the OCA.

Eligibility and Participating Teams
Leading up to the 2022 Asian Games in Hangzhou, China, the AESF is responsible for identifying the finalists for their respective esports event titles through regional qualifiers as part of the ‘Road to Asian Games’ competition campaign which will lead to the Final at 2022 Asian Games in Hangzhou, China.
Qualifiers and Finals
The AESF will form the qualifying and final tournament structure for all esports events and conduct the qualifiers for all participating Asian countries at the 2022 Asian Games in Hangzhou, China, in collaboration with the OCA.

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Community Outreach Programs
As part of the Asian Games community outreach, AESF will deliver and execute the AESF Experience Program with full support from the OCA. Aiming to connect with the esports community and fans alike, this program also aims to deliver the best Esports experience while also attracting new esports fans.

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Making Indian Presence Felt: Natural8 India gears up to take a contingent of nine winners of its latest India Exclusive to Asian Poker Tour (APT) Phu Quoc!

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With fully expense paid trip to the breathtaking island and a whopping INR 15 lakh in additional benefits, the winners will compete with Asia’s best poker players for the ultimate prize in the Main and Mini Main Events

Underlining its commitment to establishing India’s competitive poker scene on a global stage, Natural8 India is taking a massive contingent of nine players on an all-expenses paid trip to compete at the Asian Poker Tour (APT) Phu Quoc. In doing so, these nine players – Kishore Kumar V C, Romit Advani, Akhand Shukla, Myron Pereira, Pranav Khandalkar, Arindam Nayak, Anurag Rawat, Rasik Bhatia, and Harsh Bharti – will have a shot at winning the ultimate prize at the Main Event: the APT Trophy and the Main Event prize pool!

To facilitate this, Natural8 India has offered bonuses worth a whopping INR 15 lakh to the nine winners of its latest India Exclusive. In addition to travel and accommodation (worth around INR 85,000 per head) to all players, it has also offered the top four players a chance to compete at the main table with Main Event tickets worth INR 1,23,905 each while the other five players are set to compete at the Mini Main Event with tickets worth INR 41,301 each.

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Speaking at the announcement, Kunal Patni, Executive Director and Country Head, Natural8 India, said, “The Indian competitive poker community is rapidly establishing itself as a thriving space and actively challenging the top players, whether in Asia or a global stage. At Natural8 India, we are proud to be driving this shift with events such as our India Exclusives, where we uncover the next wave of talented competitive poker players and give them a chance to shine at the grandest stages. It is inspiring to witness the energy at these tables, with both seasoned players and fresh talent coming together to elevate the game. We’re eagerly anticipating more intense showdowns at the APT Phu Quoc as our contingent takes on the best poker players from across Asia. We wish all the participants the very best!”

The post Making Indian Presence Felt: Natural8 India gears up to take a contingent of nine winners of its latest India Exclusive to Asian Poker Tour (APT) Phu Quoc! appeared first on European Gaming Industry News.

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Hong Kong Construction Titan Turned Macau Casino Boss Lui Che-Woo Dies Aged 95

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Lui Che Woo, the casino tycoon who helped propel Macau to eclipse rival Las Vegas in gambling revenues, has died at the age of 95, his company said in a statement late on Monday.

Lui, chairman of Macau casino company Galaxy Entertainment, died in Hong Kong on Nov. 7, it said, adding that his “vision, tremendous leadership and guidance” were the foundation for the group’s development and continued success.

Also the chairman of K. Wah Group, a Hong Kong-listed company focused on construction and quarry mining before turning to property, Lui was widely recognised in both Hong Kong and Macau as an influential businessman with close ties to the Chinese government.

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One of Hong Kong’s richest men, Lui kept a low profile and was always seen wearing a flat cap as he went about the city and when he attended press conferences.

A member of China’s national advisory body, the Chinese People’s Political Consultative Conference, Lui had close ties to Beijing and was part of a business delegation that met with President Xi Jinping in 2014 in China’s capital.

Galaxy Entertainment holds one of six coveted gaming licenses that were granted after Macau liberalised the casino industry in 2002.

Competing with rivals like the now deceased Stanley Ho, whose family runs the SJM Holdings casino empire, the late U.S. billionaire Sheldon Adelson and Wynn Resorts founder Steve Wynn, Lui steered Galaxy to become of Macau’s top operators.

It operates several large casino resorts in Macau, both on the Las Vegas-style Cotai strip and on the teeming main peninsula.

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The post Hong Kong Construction Titan Turned Macau Casino Boss Lui Che-Woo Dies Aged 95 appeared first on European Gaming Industry News.

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8Bit Creatives partners with NODWIN Gaming as the exclusive talent partner for DreamHack India

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8Bit Creatives, India’s leading esports consulting and talent management agency, has announced its partnership with NODWIN Gaming, a leader in new-age youth entertainment, gaming, and esports, as the exclusive Talent Partner for DreamHack India 2024.

With this partnership, 8Bit Creatives will leverage its significant reach in the Indian gaming, esports and youth communities through its prominent and talented roster of creators. These creators will create content leading up to the festival and also host meet-and-greet sessions.

India’s biggest gaming festival, DreamHack India, is set to take place from 15th to 17th November at the Hitex Exhibition Centre in Hyderabad, marking its fifth edition. For half a decade, the India edition of the global festival has become one of the most anticipated events of the Indian gaming ecosystem. Bringing together a plethora of events, including esports tournaments, BYOD (Bring Your Own Device) events, cosplay competitions, music concerts, and stand-up comedy, DreamHack India is the celebration of gaming, esports, pop-culture, and entertainment.

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8Bit Creatives, CEO and founder Animesh Agarwal said “DreamHack India is one of the most prominent events in the Indian gaming and esports calendar and we’re proud to be the exclusive talent partners for it. This is further recognition of 8Bit Creatives’ ability to meaningfully engage the gaming and youth audiences across the country. Our belief in working with the right creators who create experiences that resonate with the youth audiences distinguishes our offerings and we can’t wait to share what we have in store for DreamHack India 2024 with our audiences!”

This is not the first time that 8Bit Creatives will partner with DreamHack India. The organisation was also the talent partner for the event in 2022.

Commenting on the partnership, NODWIN Gaming, Co-founder and MD Akshat Rathee said “Our vision at NODWIN Gaming is to create unforgettable experiences for the youth, and DreamHack has proven to be the ultimate platform to realise that vision, bringing together gaming, entertainment, and community in an immersive celebration. We’re thrilled to have 8Bit Creatives as our exclusive Talent Partner for DreamHack India 2024. It’s especially exciting to welcome iconic creators like Mortal, who joined us in our very first edition, back for this landmark fifth year, alongside fan favourites like Snax, Kaashvi, Thug, and Payal. These creators bring a unique energy that connects deeply with our fans and elevates every moment. Their presence underscores our commitment to crafting electrifying experiences year after year, building on the momentum of events like BGMS and past DreamHack editions. Together with 8Bit and this powerhouse lineup, we’re setting the stage for an unforgettable event that will bring fans and creators closer than ever before!”

8Bit Creatives’s content and esports division S8UL became the only organisation in the year to win ‘Content Group of the Year’ award for the third consecutive year at the Esports Awards 2024. Additionally, they are the only organisation from India to ever win an Esports Award in any category. Earlier this year, gaming content creators from 8Bit Creatives including Naman Mathur, Payal Dhare and Animesh “Thug” Agarwal were invited for a meet and greet session with the honourable Prime Minister Shri Narendra Modi.

The organisation has been at the forefront of India’s gaming and content ecosystem with its extensive range of services, including talent management, campaign curation and execution, brand activations and more.

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The post 8Bit Creatives partners with NODWIN Gaming as the exclusive talent partner for DreamHack India appeared first on European Gaming Industry News.

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