The rapid emergence of esports is being felt even in the corporate sector, where Singapore recently concluded a Singtel tournament featuring over 400 players from 60 companies.
Turret Heist from DBS took 3,000 Singapore dollars ($2,200) the top rank in «Mobile Legends: Bang Bang», Southeast Asia’s most-downloaded free mobile gaming app in 2017. Delloitte’s esports team, DeloitteOne, took $2,900 and first place in «Defense of the Ancients» 2 (Dota 2) which ranked as the most-played game in consecutive years on multi-billion dollar gaming platform Steam (estimated revenue of $4.3 billion in 2017).
The finalists in the two games, alongside their runner-ups, will qualify for positions in regional tournaments which includes teams from Indonesia, Malaysia, Philippines and Thailand. The grand finals will be held in Singapore at the end of the year.
30-Fold Growth
Esports is expected to experience colossal growth as penetration and usage of various devices continues to skyrocket, especially amongst millennials, and this latest tournament in Singapore is just another sign of things to come.
By one estimate, the global esports, just a component of the overall gaming market, is expected to grow from 2018-end’s $915 million to nearly $30 billion by 2025.
«The increased recognition of esports and its influence on media, technology and culture, holds significant economic potential for the industry,» said the Singapore government’s Minister for Communications and Information, S. Iswaran, who was also present at finals.
According to Iswaran, Singapore’s «well-connected and resilient infrastructure» are competitive advantages to make it the regional focal point for gaming and esports.
