Esports, which in the past has been largely regarded as a leisure activity and not a sport, is in this year's Asian Games in Indonesia as a demonstration event, meaning it will not count towards the official medals table. 

Qualification tournaments take place in Hong Kong and Ho Chi Minh City in Vietnam this month.

At least 27 countries and over 300 gamers will compete, with results expected at the end of June. 

Other qualifying events have already taken place in Japan. 

At a press conference Kenneth Fok, President of the Asian Electronic Sports Federation, said they "strive" to bring esports into the Olympic Games. 

"Inclusion of esports in the Asian Games also means huge economic potential," he said.

"The HKSAR [Hong Kong] Government sees the future in esports.

"In the 2018-2019 budget, the Government announced a fund allocation to support esports development through providing venues to esports competitions, technological support for industry development and talent training."

As part of the esports competition at the Jakarta and Palembang Asian Games this August, six different titles will be played.

These include the League of Legends, Starcraft II and Pro Evolution Soccer. 

Esports may only be a demonstration event at this year's Asian Games, but at the 2022 edition in Hangzhou in China it will be an official medal event. 

The prospect of esports being included in the Olympics may remain distant, but its incorporation in the Asian Games will provide a hugely public testing ground. 

In all around 10,000 athletes are expected to compete at this year's Games, which will feature 40 sports in total, between August 18 and September 2.