Esports has been officially recognised as a professional sport in Thailand meaning that players and organisations can now be supported by the Sports Authority of Thailand (SAT).
Esports’ popularity has soared in the country with the Thailand E-Sports Federation (TESF) running regular competitions, seminars and workshops.
The Thai Government has caught wind of the industry’s potential and has been working alongside the TESF on a number of projects that have provided training to employees to better understand esports and assist them in organising more competitions, it is claimed.
The Sports Authority of Thailand and the Thailand Ministry of Tourism and Sports have sponsored ESL One events for Dota 2, and sponsored ESL National Tournament events. The TESF has organised tournaments for a variety of different titles. Their 2020 tournament for Mobile Legends included companies like Razer and Samsung Galaxy as partners for the event.
Thailand boasts one of the oldest esports organisations in Made in Thailand (MiTH) e-Sports. It was founded in 2007 and has fielded teams in Dota 2, CSGO, Point Blank, Heroes of Newerth, and Starcraft II.
The Government involvement could help Thailand become a prime destination for groups like ESL and the Professional Gamers League (PGL) to host their events. There’s a lot to expect from this region moving forward.
