China won’t compete in League of Legends at the 2026 Asian Games

Players from the People’s Republic of China will reportedly miss the League of Legends competition at the 2026 Asian Games as observers speculate that the delegation was withdrawn due to poor Sino-Japanese relations.

China was notably absent from the list of teams competing in League of Legends in a list released by the Olympic Council of Asia on May 30. This will seemingly mean players from the LPL, one of Asia's strongest leagues, will be missing from the tournament completely.

LPL players won’t be at the 2026 Asian Games

Mainland China, which competes under the banner of the People’s Republic of China at the Asian Games, was missing from the list of League of Legends competitors, while Hong Kong, China, a separate autonomous region within China, remained.

Observers such as esports journalist Wang Weichen speculated on Weibo that the reason for the absence was poor Sino-Japanese relations. The 2026 Asian Games are being held in Aichi and Nagoya, Japan.

However it was also suggested the decision not to compete was performance related. That is to say, the Chinese delegation didn’t believe they could win in League of Legends so opted to avoid competing.

The major competitor to China would, of course, be South Korea, whose Team Korea of Esports competitors were announced earlier in May, and feature a stacked line-up of world champions, including legendary midlaner Lee "Faker" Sang-hyeok.

While China and the LPL has often bested Korea and the LCK in international competition, the separation between the two nations has grown in recent years. China last bested Korea at Worlds 2021 with Edward Gaming defeating DWG KIA. Since then, China has been runner up to Korea teams in 2023 and 2024, and only made it to the semi-finals in 2025.

As a result, it seems like LPL players will be largely absent from the tournament, with perhaps just a few Hong Kong-born players, such as LNG Esports Li "1xn" Sau Nam, being eligible.