Home > Sports > Esports

Jinju to host Esports Championships Asia ahead of 2026 Aichi-Nagoya Asian Games

Published: 23 Apr. 2026, 11:38 Updated: 23 Apr. 2026, 17:54

LEE SOO-JUNG
[email protected]

Poster for Esports Championships Asia Jinju 2026 [SCREEN CAPTURE]

A preview of the esports games that will be featured at the upcoming Asian Games in Japan will unfold in Jinju, South Gyeongsang, about five months ahead of the Asiad, the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism said Thursday.

Some 150 esports players and coaching staff from seven Asian countries will compete in the upcoming Esports Championships Asia Jinju 2026 at Jinju Arena in South Gyeongsang for three days starting Friday.

The competing nations are Korea, Japan, Thailand, Mongolia, China, Vietnam and the Philippines.

The championship will feature six official disciplines: "Street Fighter 6" (2023), "Tekken 8" (2024), "The King of Fighters" (2022), the mobile and desktop editions of "eFootball" (2021), the mobile edition of "Battlegrounds" (2018) and the homegrown survival game "Eternal Return" (2023).

Except for the Eternal Return, the five games are also due to be played at esports matches at the upcoming 2026 Aichi-Nagoya Asian Games in September.

The Esports Championships Asia also added “Stepin,” the AI-powered K-pop dance battle game, as an exhibition game.

The Esports Championships Asia, a national team-based competition, was launched through trilateral cooperation between Korea, Japan and China in 2021. Korea has since hosted the championship three times.

The championships’ reach expanded beyond East Asia this year by bringing Southeast Asian nations into the fold. All athletes are selected through each nation’s esports governing body and association, which has been delegated authority from its national Olympic Committee.

Besides the matches, the championships will feature fan-signing events, cosplay events, a tea-culture program and other exhibitions to introduce local Jinju specialties, according to the Culture Ministry.

“The international championships were based on an idea presented by Korea, the home of esports,” said Kim Jae-hyun, director of the cultural and media industry office at the ministry, in a press release. “I hope the championships serve as a cultural bridge that connects youth populations across Asia.”

The match will be livestreamed worldwide on multiple platforms, including Disney+, SOOP and YouTube.

BY LEE SOO-JUNG [[email protected]]