SINGAPORE: The Singtel Group on Tuesday launched the PVP eSports Championship, a multi-title and regional league with a prize pool of $300,000.
To be held in Singapore from October 5 to 7, the PVP eSports Championship signals the Singtel Group’s ambition to foster a “vibrant e-sports ecosystem and community together with Optus and regional associates Airtel, AIS, Globe and Telkomsel”.
The league features two games: the popular online battle arena Dota 2, and mobile multiplayer battle arena game Arena of Valor.
Online qualifiers for both games will open at the end of the month and will be open to gamers in Singapore, Australia, India, Indonesia, Thailand and the Philippines, Straits Times reports.
“Telcos have every right, and the assets, to play in the growing gaming ecosystem and we want to engage the largely millennial consumers across our regional footprint,” said Arthur Lang, CEO of Singtel’s International Group.
“Mobile-based games, in particular, have gained a strong following in this region where the mobile phone is the main gaming device of choice. With the group’s robust broadband and mobile networks as well as reach across Southeast Asia, India and Australia with over 600 million subscribers, we are excited to build a vibrant e-sports ecosystem that will provide gamers and fans access to original and exciting content. We look forward to take gaming to the next level with our partners.”
Through the league, the group will organise e-sports activities and provide content, building on the initiatives by Globe in the Philippines, Telkomsel in Indonesia and Singtel in Singapore, which are actively promoting e-sports in their countries, Digital News Asia reports.
The group will leverage on its combined mobile customer base of over 600 million across the region, together with its telco assets and partnerships, to gain a slice of the growing eSports industry.
PVP eSports Championship will be set up with e-sports industry players such as Razer, Blizzard, Garena and the Mineski Group through MET.
Asia Pacific is the world’s fastest growing region in terms of e-sports audience with numbers expected to climb to about 290 million by 2021 from 167 million in 2017, Digital News Asia further reports.
Competitive video gaming is set to be included in the Asian Games 2018 in Jakarta this August as a demonstration sport and is also being considered as a potential medal event in the 2024 Olympics in Paris.
Singtel’s collaboration with Razer in the regional league follows a memorandum of understanding signed in May to foster strategic collaboration in the high-growth areas of e-payments, e-sports, gaming-related digital media and telecommunication services across Southeast Asia, India and Australia.
The PVP eSports Championship in Singapore is supported by Singapore Tourism Board (STB).
“We are pleased that the finals of the inaugural PVP eSports Championship will be held in Singapore,” said Carrie Kwik, executive director of Attractions, Entertainment & Tourism Concept Development.
