ESPL launches national amateur esports tournaments and media network in Asia

The eSports Pro League (ESPL) is announcing today that it will create a global esports tournament and media network, starting with national esports competitions in Asia, starting in 2020.

The Singpore-based company announced it is targeting amateur gamers with a path to becoming professionals. It announced the plans at the Esports Bar Miami event that I am attending this week. The company has raised $2 million to date.

“We are setting up national leagues for esports,” said Michael Broda, CEO of ESPL. “We are doing a global technology platform to go from bedroom to pro.”

ESPL is developing an integrated and open ecosystem for tournaments, media, brands, publishers, teams and players with a focus on community and digital interactivity. ESPL is launching a global footprint across 16 countries in its initial phase, covering Asia, Europe and America.

“This is a global project. We will build up with with with local partners, local tournament organizers, or, or even companies in particular countries, if it makes sense,” Broda said. “We see the infrastructure is missing and we see mobile games on the rise.”

A new kind of tournament network

To enable its global roll-out, ESPL adopts a scalable licensing partnership model, working
exclusively with one experienced tournament organizer in every country it plans to enter into. ESPL wants to organize national esports tournaments across several esports — perhaps a couple of mobile esports games and one PC-focused — in each country. One of the likely games is Mobile Legends: Bang Bang.

The company wants to distinguish itself from other event organizers by adopting new technology to employ a hybrid online and on-ground tournament model, in partnership with a local organizer in the region.

ESPL hopes to make esports into a mass entertainment for a global audience, via a multilateral approach on branding and digital media. Broda said the company won’t be tied to any particular games or publishers.

Investors include former eSports.com Group CEO Broda, iCandy Interactive, and Malaysia-based software company Sedania Innovator Berhad.

The first season is expected to start in February 2020, and it will continue through December 2020. Broda said the company will likely acquire new companies.

“We want to give it more structure like play national, become the best, move up,” Broda said.
“We are in a digital environment, so we need to solve it digitally. We will start with the tournaments and become a media company.”

The organizers of Esports BAR Miami paid my way to the event. Our coverage remains objective.