Thailand made history. On September 29 at the Aichi Sky Expo in Tokoname, the Thai national squad won gold in PUBG Mobile at the 20th Asian Games, finishing with 128 points ahead of China's 114 and Pakistan's 100. It's Thailand's first-ever Asian Games medal in the title, in a week that also handed Mobile Legends: Bang Bang its own medal debut at the event.
Mobile esports isn't new to the Asian Games program. PUBG Mobile and Honor of Kings (competing under its earlier Arena of Valor branding) both debuted as official medal events at the 2022 Hangzhou Asian Games, held in 2023 after a pandemic delay, with China sweeping gold in both. What's new at Aichi-Nagoya is Mobile Legends: Bang Bang joining the medal program for the first time, plus a shake-up at the top of the PUBG Mobile podium after China owned it the last time around.
The results so far
PUBG Mobile's final brought together 12 national teams at the Aichi Sky Expo, including automatic qualifiers Japan, China, South Korea, and Chinese Taipei, plus eight squads that fought through qualifiers in Ho Chi Minh City back in June. China, the defending Hangzhou gold medalist, settled for silver this time, while South Korea, silver medalist in 2022, fell to 6th and missed the podium entirely, underlining how open the field has become in just one cycle.
Honor of Kings wrapped its final a day earlier, on September 28. China took gold over Malaysia's silver, while the Philippines and Hong Kong (China) split bronze. Tencent's MOBA has dominated in China across both Asiad appearances, but Malaysia's silver signals the title's competitive base is widening across Southeast Asia.
Mobile Legends: Bang Bang made its Asian Games medal debut this week, running September 29 through October 1 at the Aichi Sky Expo. Group play wrapped as PUBG Mobile and Honor of Kings closed out, with the Bo7 grand final set for October 1. Indonesia, fielding a roster built around the Alter Ego core, and Malaysia both enter that final chasing MLBB's first-ever Asian Games medal, the one new title on this year's mobile card.
The broader esports program backs up the trend beyond mobile MOBAs and shooters. eFootball handed out its medals on September 23, with Iran taking gold and Malaysia silver. Pokémon UNITE followed on September 27, with host nation Japan winning gold and Indonesia silver.
Why this matters beyond the podium
Mobile esports already made its Asian Games entrance in 2023. This week's real story is that the format stuck and kept expanding: a second consecutive Asiad cycle for PUBG Mobile and Honor of Kings, a new title added in MLBB, and a podium shake-up that broke the 2022 winners' grip.
That continuity carries real consequences:
- National federations keep funding mobile esports like established sport, not a one-off experiment. A second cycle of medals reinforces government recognition, athlete stipends, and training infrastructure already built after Hangzhou.
- The qualifier pipeline is now a fixture. With PUBG Mobile and Honor of Kings both back for round two and MLBB folded in as a third mobile title, national federations have a template that scales toward 2030.
- Newly-medaled scenes get a foothold. Thailand's PUBG Mobile gold and Indonesia and Malaysia's push for a first MLBB medal show the podium isn't locked to whoever won first.
- It builds the case for further multi-sport inclusion, feeding directly into ongoing conversations about esports at the Olympic Esports Games and future Asian Games editions.
Thailand's gold, China's Honor of Kings win, and Indonesia and Malaysia's push for a first MLBB medal aren't isolated storylines. Mobile esports' Asian Games slot from 2022 wasn't a one-time demonstration. It's a fixture that added its third title this year and reshuffled its podium in the process.
