The Sports Authority of Thailand (SAT) and the Thailand Ministry of Tourism and Sports have partnered with Garena Online Thailand to strengthen the domestic esports industry and develop the country as the hub of esports tournaments in Asean.

“The ministry and the SAT will focus more on esports next year including training and welfare to develop the esport ecosystem after esports was named in the Royal Gazette last month as one of the country’s professional sports,” Tourism and Sports Minister Phiphat Ratchakitprakarn said.

The esports industry across Asean was worth US$39 million in 2020 and is expected to grow to $72 million by 2024 as people spend more time playing online games amid the pandemic, according to the minister.

A boom in esports does not only benefit internet providers or IT products, but also consumer product makers which target millennials, sport tourism, and investment in the country, he said.

Mr Phiphat said Thailand is due to take part in the biggest esports event, Arena of Valor (RoV) International Championship 2021 (AIC 2021), with a prize pool of $1 million, at the end of next month, which could help the country prepare to serve as the future regional hub for esports competition.

SAT governor Kongsak Yodmanee said the agency has recently established the SAT Esports Academy to train RoV players participating in the upcoming Road to AIC 2021, a tournament that selects esports teams for AIC 2021.

Kongsak said there are 12 members from two esport teams that are preparing for the match under the supervision of the SAT, which provides support for physical training, nutrition and sports psychology.

The Tourism and Sports Ministry, the SAT and Garena signed a memorandum of understanding to support and enhance the esports industry in Thailand.

“Even though Thailand is not the biggest esports market in Asia, investors and stakeholders perceive the country as a potential market thanks to the readiness of the ecosystem and official recognition from the government,” Allen Hsu, regional head of strategic partnership and esports development at Garena Online Thailand, said.

Thailand is the first country where foreign football clubs like Paris Saint-Germain and Valencia have invested in the RoV Pro League, which showed the country’s potential for esports, he said.

He said 2022 will be the year for esports as many tournaments will take place in Thailand and overseas, particularly the SEA Games and Asian Games, where esports have become a medal sport and could gain more recognition.

The new season of the Rocket League Championship Series (RLCS) will be live on eSPORTS1 and the pan-European channel eSportsONE as well as selected events live on free-TV on SPORT1: Sport1 GmbH and video game developer Psyonix have extended their 2020 cooperation by one year. The deal was brokered by IMG and includes platform-neutral rights to the Rocket League Championship Series for the pan-European area. RLCS Season 2021-22 kicked off on October 15 with the first regional tournament for North America. From October 22 to October 24, the first regional for Europe will now take place, which eSPORTS1 and eSportsONE will broadcast live daily from 5:00 p.m. The decisive matches can also be seen on Sunday live from 8:00 p.m. on SPORT1 on free-TV. Just like last year, selected events of the top-class tournament series will also be shown live on free-TV on SPORT1.

This is how the Rocket League Championship Series 2021-22 works

In Rocket League, players try to get a ball into the opponent’s goal using rocket-powered cars. Launched in 2016, the Rocket League Championship Series (RLCS) pits the world’s best teams against each other in this esports title. Since last season, the tournament series has been divided into three sections: “Fall”, “Winter”, and “Spring”, each of which includes three regional events for North America and Europe as well as a major tournament. At the end of the season, the best Rocket League team in the world will be crowned in the Rocket League World Championship. 

eSPORTS1 and the pan-European channel eSportsONE will accompany the entire 2021-22 season of the Rocket League Championship Series live. After the season opener last weekend, the EU Regional 1 of the first stage of the season “Fall” is now scheduled from Friday, October 22, to Sunday, October 24, which eSPORTS1 and eSportsONE will broadcast live daily from 5:00 p.m. The decisive matches can also be seen on Sunday live from 8:00 p.m. on SPORT1 on free-TV. The commentators are Pascal Schuster, Florian Merz, Jonas Schaffrick and Fabian Sieroka (see overview for exact line-up). The first seasonal section’s two other Regionals in North America and Europe will take place at the end of October and in November. The first Major event is currently scheduled for December 8-12. Selected events will also be shown live on SPORT1 on free-TV.

The next broadcasts of the Rocket League Championship Series 2021-22 on the SPORT1 platforms: