AIS promotes E-Sports to strengthen Thai gamers in the global arena

AIS has announced a plan to support E-Sports in Thailand in all dimensions with the aim of creating opportunities for and strengthening the competitiveness of Thai gamers on the global stage.

AIS will also form partnerships with other industry parties to drive the E-Sports Ecosystem forward so that it grows sustainably and benefits all involved.

AIS has entered into partnerships with SingTel Group, strategic operators in 6 countries and leading global developers of gaming platforms, namely Razer, Garena, Blizzard, and Mineski Event Team, to launch the PVP E-Sports Championship. This tournament focuses on two popular games: ROV (mobile game) and DOTA2 (PC game) and offers winners regional prizes totaling more than 11.5 million baht.

In Thailand, the competition will be held from July to October 2018, apply for competition beginning on 25 July 2018 with winning leagues going on to take part in the regional tournament in Singapore.

According to Pratthana Leelapanang AIS’s Chief Consumer Business Officer, AIS is propelling the E-Sports industry forward by providing a full range of digital platforms. With its strong network infrastructure for both mobile internet and fixed broadband, AIS is Thailand’s No. 1 network offering the fastest speeds and the lowest latency time. It is the perfect partner for gamers thanks to its convenient payment platform and exciting content platform for E-Sports enthusiasts.

E-Sports has enjoyed exponential growth among the region’s Millennials since its inclusion as a demonstration sport in the 2018 Asian Games. The E-Sports industry in Thailand has also seen dramatic growth due to the expansion of relevant businesses. Today, Thailand’s E-Sports has a community of more than 30 million amateur and professional gamers as well as tournament viewers.

Southeast Asia is the fastest growing region in terms of E-Sports audience with numbers expected to more than double from 20 million in 2017 to reach over 40 million by 2019. As audiences grow, E-Sports is pushing into the sporting mainstream. The Asian Games 2018 in Jakarta this August will be the first major Games in the world where it will be included as a demonstration sport.