Singtel takes a dip into eSports with Razer and other partners

It will launch PVP eSports Championship in Singapore on 5 to 7 October.

Singtel will be testing the waters of eSports with the launch of PVP eSports Championship, a multi-title and regional league in Singapore on 5 to 7 October. Its partners Razer, Blizzard, Garena, and MET will be set up with other players through MET.

According to an announcement, Singtel will organise eSports activities and provide content, building on the initiatives by Globe in the Philippines, Telkomsel in Indonesia, and Singtel in Singapore which are actively promoting eSports in their countries. It will leverage 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 eSports industry.

It is part of the Group’s efforts to grow its gaming and digital content business across its footprint in the Asia Pacific region.

“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 Singtel International Group CEO Arthur Lang. “Mobile-based games, in particular, have gained a strong following in this region where the mobile phone is the main gaming device of choice.”

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, eSports, gaming-related digital media and telecommunication services across Southeast Asia, India and Australia.

Organised by eSports event organiser MET, the inaugural tournament will feature leading mobile game Arena of Valor and PC game Dota 2. The Singapore stop of the global tour of game developer and publisher Blizzard’s game Hearthstone will also be part of the PVP eSports Championship.

Teams will compete at local qualifiers organised by the Singtel Group in Australia, India, Indonesia, Singapore, Thailand and the Philippines. Winning teams from each country will then move on to battle invited professional teams from North America, Europe and China at the PVP eSports Championship to be held in Singapore in October. The league has a prize pool of US$300,000.

Singtel will also start a search for a home-grown Singapore team it can sponsor through this tournament. Fans will be able to watch league competitions through Singtel Group’s content platforms and content partners.