History of Esports in Indonesia and Current Developments

Esports is a form of sports competition that uses video games. Esports in Indonesia is experiencing very rapid development and this time, VCGamers will discuss the history of esports in Indonesia.

Maybe there are still esports fans in Indonesia who don't know about the first video game competition in Indonesia. The following is a discussion of the first esports in Indonesia and the history of the development of esports to date.

Also Read: BOOM Esports Champion of LCQ APAC, Qualifies for Champions 2022!

The First Esports in Indonesia

History of Esports in Indonesia Super Mario Bros — Game Super Mario Bros as the First Esports in Indonesia. Source: YouTube/Old Classic Retro Gaming

According to Kompasiana, the first esports in Indonesia is a video game tournament called Super Mario Bros. The tournament took place at the People's Entertainment Park in Surabaya in 1989. Currently, the first esports venue in Indonesia is called Hi-Tec Mall in Surabaya.

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Super Mario Bros is a platform game from the legendary Nintendo. The game was released in 1985 and uniquely, the holding of the first esports tournament in Indonesia came only four years after the release year of Super Mario Bros.

Also Read: Mario Kart Tour, Nintendo-Style Fun Racing on Mobile

Development of Esports in Indonesia

History of Esports in Indonesia Quake III — Quake III As One of the First Esports Games in Indonesia. Source: YouTube/FirstPlays HD

After the first esports tournament in Indonesia, many esports tournaments have sprung up, especially online games.

According to Young Business, the implementation of esports in Indonesia increased in 1999. Technological developments greatly supported the history of esports in Indonesia, so that there was a Game League as the official esports competition in Indonesia.

The Game League organizes various tournaments with online games such as StarCraft and Quake III. StarCraft is a legendary strategy game, meanwhile Quake III is one of the first FPS games to have an esports scene other than Counter Strike.

Since 2002, there have been many other online games that finally have a competitive scene, such as Age of Empires II, FIFA World Cup, to Counter Strike. Age of Empires II is a strategy game quite similar to StarCraft

The FIFA World Cup as one of the first esports games in Indonesia is a ball game, which of course the majority of Indonesian people are familiar with. Apart from that, Counter Strike is a legendary FPS game which currently still has a well-known franchise, namely Counter Strike: Global Offensive.

Also Read: BOOM Esport Dota 2 Team Profile, Let's Meet!

Early History of the Development of Esports Games in Indonesia

Asian Games 2018

The development of esports in Indonesia is currently quite popular. Many Indonesian people have become professional esports players or esports athletes.

The popularity of esports in Indonesia is proven by the holding of esports branches at the 2018 Asian Games. There are six esports game divisions at the 2018 Asian Games, namely Mobile Legends, League of Legends, Arena of Valor, Clash Royale, StarCraft II, Pro Evolution Soccer, and Hearthstone.

In the Clash Royale esports branch, Indonesia won a gold medal thanks to the expertise of Ridel Isaiah Sumarandak, an Indonesian Clash Royale athlete.

Organizing esports at the 2018 Asian Games Olympics is a rapid development for esports in general.

Even though it was only a trial sport, the presence of esports as one of the official branches at the 2018 Asian Games Olympics attracted a lot of attention from international media.

IESPA or Indonesia Esports Association is an organization that has successfully conducted negotiations and diplomacy so that esports can become a trial sport at the 2018 Asian Games.

Mobile Legends

MPL Indonesia S10 — MPL Indonesia Season 10 as the Development of Esports in Indonesia. Source: MPL ID

In early 2018, the Mobile Legends game, which is very popular among Indonesians, started a tournament series called MPL Indonesia. With a total prize pool of $100,000 USD, 10 teams competed for first place.

The tournament took place at the Revival Studio for the Regular Season and the climax, namely the Playoffs, was held at Taman Anggrek Mall. Looking at the history of Indonesian esports, this Mobile Legends tournament is one of the beginnings of the very rapid development of Indonesian esports.

Until now, MPL Indonesia has been running for 10 seasons and MPL Indonesia Season 10 is currently still ongoing.

Also Read: MPL S10 Week 1 Results, RRQ Ranks 1st!

Dota 2

There is also a tournament called GESC Indonesia Minor which is an international Dota 2 tournament. The tournament was held at the Indonesia Convention Exhibition, in BSD City to be precise.

Of course, this tournament is a springboard for the development of esports in Indonesia. The official tournament from Valve which gives a total prize of $300,000 is very well known, especially for Dota 2 esports activists in Indonesia.

Currently, many Indonesian pro players are currently Dota 2 pro players. An example is Xepher and Whitemon who are currently playing for T1 with Ana, Topson, and Kuku. In addition, an Indonesian pro player with the nickname Fbz who currently plays for BOOM Esports.

Thus the discussion about the history of esports in Indonesia. To top up Vicigers' favorite online game, come visit VC Market by VCGamers!

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