For the love of e-sports

THE global e-sports industry is big business these days, and the numbers say it all. According to data analytics firm Newzoo, the industry will surpass US$1 billion in revenue for the first time this year, with the figure estimated to reach US$1.8 billion in 2022.

South-east Asia is home to one of the world's fastest-growing gaming and e-sports markets. In Singapore, the local games market grew by 15 per cent in 2020 from a year earlier, with the city-state now home to some 220 game developing and publishing companies.

Singapore will host two major e-sports events before the year is up - the first global tournament of Wild Rift in mid-November, and the inaugural Global Esports Games (GEG) in December. The latter is the flagship event of the Singapore-based Global Esports Federation, an organisation launched in 2019 that has Chinese Internet giant Tencent as its founding partner.

The GEG itself has many big-name partners already on board, including Singapore Airlines, Lazada, MyRepublic, Samsung, Razer and Raffles Medical Group.

Over 100 players from 40 countries - 12 of them from Singapore - will be in town for the tournament, after making it through the qualifying rounds. They will compete across 3 popular game titles - Dota 2, eFootball PES 2021 and Street Fighter 5 - in 4 medalled events.

GEFcon, a global convention of thought leaders, and GEFestival, a "dynamic celebration of inclusive e-sports culture", will be held parallel to the GEG in Singapore.

"E-sports is an inclusive game, with its virtual platform providing an even playing field for all athletes to compete equally," said Ng Shin Ein, the chair of the GEG organising committee.

The 47-year-old mother-of-3 wears multiple hats. She's a private equity entrepreneur and the co-founder of investment firm Gryphus Capital, and she sits on the boards of Grab, Starhub and CSE Global. She has also served as Singapore's non-resident ambassador to Hungary since 2016.

This is an edited excerpt of a recent interview she did with BT Weekend.

How did you get involved in the e-sports scene?

I've always been excited about things that disrupt. It's the whole ecosystem surrounding e-sports that I find very exciting, and where I see a lot of opportunities.

There are the gamers and the teams, lawyers who understand intellectual property and digital assets, investors in e-sports and the financing of the gaming infrastructure and events. It's also about connectivity, 5G, telcos and payment companies.

When I encourage younger people to have fun playing online games, actually the end-goal is not that you must always become a professional gamer, but that you can be a part of this ecosystem too.

There are many views on online gaming out there, and whether people, especially youths, should be spending so much time in front of a screen. As a parent of 3 children, what's your take?

I consider myself a social gamer. Now I enjoy playing games with my youngest daughter, and it's a great way for the both of us to have fun.

Yes, as a parent, I've struggled with some of the issues such as addiction, responsible gaming and cyber bullying. But I would say it's the same with all other types of virtual interactions, so these are not peculiar to gaming.

I prefer having conversations and discussions and debates on these issues, rather than say to them: "Don't do it". As with everything in life, there has to be a balance.

We're in the middle of a pandemic and there haven't been many large-scale events this year, sports or otherwise. What's significant about the Global Esports Games?

E-sports has gained a lot of traction in recent years, and it's something that can be done in a hybrid format. For the GEG, the players will fly in to Singapore to compete in the finals. As for the conference and festival, these can have a mix of both physical and online elements.

Hosting the Global Esports Games in Singapore is an opportunity that will shape the course of e-sports in the region, while establishing and cementing Singapore's place in the e-sports ecosystem.

Singapore was selected to be the host city of this first edition of the GEG, and at the end we will hand it over to Istanbul to host in 2022. After that, it will be Riyadh's turn in 2023.

What's your vision for the GEG?

It's to set that standard for e-sports tournaments out there. To have over 100 players from 40 countries, that's already quite something.

There's no prize money for the winner - they will get a trophy - and yet we have all these participants who are interested in being a part of this event. They all want that prestige of competing against the best in the world.

To find out more about the Global Esports Games, visit https://www.geg2021.com/