Esports, recognised as an official Sport in Sri Lanka just 4 years ago, has gained a large player-base and fan following during a short period of time. Gamer.LK, Sri Lanka’s leading Esports organisation, has spearheaded the structure and growth in visibility of the sport through Esports events and streaming engagements. Esports has a global following, with a number of different video game titles being positioned as “Electronic Sports”, as opposed to just fun/hobby type video games. The ecosystem has professional paid Esports athletes, teams, franchises, brands, tournaments, leagues, sponsors, commentators and arenas, similar to some of the bigger traditional sports.
Tencent, the creator of PUBG MOBILE and one of the world’s leading game publishers, partnered with Gamer.LK, a Sri Lankan Esports agency to organize the PUBG MOBILE National Championship South Asia Wild Card (PMNC) with a prize pool of USD 30,000, equivalent to more than Rs 10 million, the highest prize pool Sri Lanka has ever seen for Esports which is a clear indicator that the sport is expanding in Sri Lanka, reminiscent of the explosion in popularity of cricket in the country 30 years ago, leading up to Sri Lanka’s World Cup victory in ‘96.
PUBG MOBILE’s popularity has expanded tremendously as a result of its engaging game mechanics, low barriers of entry, and strong competitive components. It is presently one of South Asia’s most popular Esports titles and a driving factor in the region’s Esports growth. The strategically complex and skill-defined game is ideal for high-stakes regional competition and has a substantial influence on the development of young Esports players’ skills.
The prize money contributes to the advancement of casual competitive gaming to the level of professional Esports competition. With tournaments like this, individuals will be less hesitant to consider playing professionally since the opportunity cost of giving up their previous employment for a low-paying sport will be considerably less harsh.
This tournament provided Esports athletes from Sri Lanka, Bangladesh, the Maldives, Bhutan, and Mongolia with the opportunity to compete in the official PUBG MOBILE Esports ecosystem and qualify for the future PUBG MOBILE Pro League South Asia, which is set to begin in 2023.
The championship concluded with Mongolia’s team SITM clinching victory, having made it from the play-offs all the way into the grand finals, after defeating over 100 of the best PUBG MOBILE teams in South Asia to be crowned champions. Mongolian teams were able to secure not only the first place but also 2nd and 3rd places as well.
As PMNC was organised and live broadcasted by Gamer.LK, it is the largest tournament hosted in Sri Lanka outside of the Esports Premier League. The magnanimity of these events is a consequence of the rising interest and competence in technology and gaming. Sri Lankan youth will be able to leverage this incentive to boost the infrastructure and talents in the Esports industry and meet the world requirements in competitive gaming in time to come.