A new chapter will open for the Asian Indoor and Martial Arts Games at Ashgabat 2017 when e-Sports makes its debut as a demonstration sport at the event.

Considered by many to be the fastest-growing sport in the world, at the top level is competitive computer and video gaming that features a slew of individuals and teams who have honed their strategizing, decision-making, and hand-eye coordination to such an elite form as to be considered athletes on par with the more ‘traditional’ sporting heroes of Ashgabat 2017.

e-Sports action at Ashgabat 2017 will feature competition in some of the most popular and challenging games currently contested in the world, including Dota II, Starcraft II, King of Fighters XIV, and Hearthstone.

While in-game IDs such as “Teehee,” “xEunji,” and “Pingfanzhilu” (the Philippines’ John Linuel Abanto, Lao’s Nanthanakone Vongxay, and China’s Liu Shuda, respectively) may not be household names to ‘traditional’ sports fans, to millions of e-Sports fans around the world the top players are as respected and idolized as any major league athlete.

11 nations will compete in Ashgabat 2017 e-Sports competition, with Jordan, Iran, Kazakhstan, Afghanistan, Mongolia, China, Laos, Vietnam, Taiwan, Philippines, and host-nation Turkmenistan all fielding competitors.

Action in e-Sports competition gets underway on 25 September and runs through to 27 September, the final day of Ashgabat 2017.