The Malaysian Sports Commissioner's office has officially accepted the registration of an organisation which aims to be the governing body for ‘electronic sports’ and its ‘athletes’ in the country.

 

Electronic sports, or e-Sports, is a rapidly growing global phenomenon in which Malaysia has produced a significant number of professional players who compete in international video game tournaments.

 

Among some of the top video games at these tournaments are Dota 2, League of Legends and Counter-Strike, and they are played by different teams of contestants.

 

The new governing entity will be known as e-Sports Malaysia (eSM) and will be launched in Kuala Lumpur next Wednesday.

The organisation's Facebook page does not explain its exact functions in detail, but states that its purpose is to "spearhead and develop the e-Sports industry in Malaysia".

 

One of the founding members of eSM, Latt Shariman Abdullah, said when contacted said eSM would serve as an umbrella body for the growing number of e-Sports athletes.

 

Fame and glory

 

The welfare of the athletes was something that eSM would look into, said Latt Shariman, but said details will only be unveiled at the launch.

 

He said there was immense youth interest in e-Sports and a number were now internationally recognised talents, thus an organised effort would help the industry grow.

 

"I've been to South Korea and seen how e-Sports has matured. They even have an e-Sports stadium... I can imagine us moving in that direction," he said.

 

Although Malaysia's e-Sports scene has received very little publicity locally, Malaysia has grown a large pool of internationally recognised players who have made their mark in international tournaments.

 

They include Wong Hock Chuan and Chai Yee Fung, who according to esportsearnings.com earned RM1.5 million (US$432,822.74) and RM1.2 million (US$332,341.43) respectively through tournaments.

 

In recent years, tournament prize pools have grown exponentially as advertisers and sponsors attempt to appeal to a rapidly growing e-Sports spectator base.

 

Seeking talents

 

Thus far, the biggest tournament prize pool ever accumulated is a staggering RM39 million (US$10.9 million), nearly five times the prize pool of Le Tour De France and 20 times the prize pool of the All-England badminton tournament in 2014.

 

Malaysia is currently the only country in the Southeast Asia region that has formally formed an e-Sports governing body, despite the rapid rise of the industry regionally.

 

Similar bodies already exist in South Korea (Korea e-Sports Association) and China (Association for Chinese e-Sports), where talented e-Sports players are treated as celebrities.

 

At present, the lack of major tournaments, infrastructure and support from Malaysian businesses have led to a significant number of Malaysians joining foreign teams, including Wong and Chai, who are currently playing for teams in China.

 

It is also understood that having e-Sports officially registered under the Sports Commissioner's office would also help players in getting visas to compete abroad.