SINGAPORE: Like many other parents, Ms Jolene Poh’s folks were initially concerned when she became interested in gaming in primary school since it might affect her studies.
Almost in tandem, Singapore, too, is making strides in becoming a choice destination for top-tier e-sports tournaments.— the biggest global tournament for multiplayer online game Dota 2, which last year offered more than US$40 million in total prize money. She added: “The live telecast or streaming of e-sports events also offers branding opportunities for Singapore, which can become the top-of-mind destination for e-sports fans globally."
Nonetheless, much work needs to be done for Singapore to establish itself as a key player in the global e-sports industry beyond hosting international tournaments, they added. This includes building up the domestic talent pool in e-sports and make it more attractive as a career option.
Mr Dominik Reitmeier, 29, a former competitive player-turned-commentator with experience playing in teams in Europe, China and Singapore, said the basic earnings here are “very far behind” compared to those in more mature markets. “It's kind of similar to a conventional sports game where if you don't exterminate those habits early, they'll stay and it will really ruin your chances of winning,” he said.
“E-sports is actually training and living an athlete's life, which also has a mix of taking care of how you eat, your exercises and rest, and things like that," he added. On its part, Singapore's investment in building up a strong digital infrastructure has been key to attracting major e-sports events here, thereby allowing it to leverage the positive trends in the industry, said some experts.
Still, Mr Neo Yong Aik noted that such exchange of expertise during major events only benefits a small number of industry players here. Mr Neo is the founder of regional events management firm NEO.TM and e-sporting broadcasting and event space The Gym. " will be an important experience for a lot of the local Singaporeans to really have a good taste of what the sports industry really feels and looks like," he said.
Gushcloud International, an influencer, entertainment and talent acquisition company headquartered in Singapore, also entered the e-sports space last year, by investing in a Japanese e-sports management company RELATION X and buying talentFrom playing behind his parents’ back to reaching the top, this Fifa gamer now has SEA Games in his sights
“We want to have a venue where aspiring e-sports players can come, amatuers, come and train in our mini arena,” he said. A report by Tencent and Newzoo in September 2021 found that Indonesia came up tops with most e-sports viewers at 17 million, followed by Vietnam at 8.1 million. An example would be the Free Fire World Series 2021 Singapore tournament which, as of May 2021, recorded the highest number of peak viewers in all e-sports tournament, at 5.41 million, according to Statista.
For one, lockdowns and the propensity for people to stay indoors have led to an uptick in online entertainment, which includes e-sports and streaming. “You can also see that because of all the involvement of professional leagues and the gaming fan base is bigger, the standard has become higher… we are able to compete and be able to win some medals… among the Southeast Asian countries,” he said.
“Let’s say I have kids, and my kids want to be professional … I'll be like, okay, I'll let you try for a year or two. But you've got to produce results. And then, if they produce results, it's great. If not, then you move on, but that's just how it always is in life, right? But at least they should be given a chance,” he said.
Developing talent at the grassroots level would then ensure that Singapore would have a sufficient talent pool to groom potential elite players. KPMG’s Mr Sachet said that while there has been increased interest, a large number of businesses have yet to see the value of associating their brands with e-sports.
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