Can an eSports organization in Singapore be financially sustainable?

Last Tuesday, Singapore eSports team [Bf.Nut] organized and produced their first triple A launch event. The Battefield 4 launch, held in Colosseum LAN shop, was quite the success, drawing about 150 participants in spite of being held on a Tuesday.

It was also the first event they had been paid for organizing. This is a group that has been in existence for nine years, and they were paid for the first time last Tuesday.

It begs the question of whether an eSports organization in Singapore can be fiscally responsible for itself, given this abysmally low rate of income.

How eSports teams in Singapore can earn money

There are several ways for eSports players to earn money in Singapore. First, they can win competitions. Local competitions can have prize pots for up to S$20,000 ($16,162) if you’re lucky, as evidenced by Armaggeddon’s Grand Slam Asia Dota 2 tournament earlier this year. If they’re good enough, they can also aim for major international competitions, like Valve’s Dota 2 The International tournament, which has a minimum prize pool of $1,600,000, or Riot Games’ League of Legends World Championships, which has a $2,050,000 pot.

Second, they can offer their time, such as streaming or playing exhibition matches at a venue for a brand. Team Eve and PMS Asterisk* have engaged in such activities. Companies occasionally need their gear or peripherals promoted, and what better way to engage the crowd than with a rousing friendly competition between the best players in the game?

Third, they can organize their own events and charge people for attending. Individuals and organizations in Singapore have been known to organize their own competitions and leagues, and to charge entrance fees for them. The community-run FIFA Cups is one example; the fighting game community’s weekly BattleField Fridays is another.

Finally, they can get themselves sponsors. Many of the better-performing Singapore eSports teams have sponsors ranging from local lads like Aftershock PC to the bigger American players like ROCCAT and Alienware.

All these are viable methods of earning an income, with one main problem: they don’t happen often enough.

Why eSports teams can’t make a living in Singapore

eSports competitions in Singapore are organized infrequently enough that their winners cannot have a steady income. While the one-off tournaments can feature big prize pots, the majority of that value comes from sponsorships in-kind. You do win loads of money from international competitions, but opportunities to participate in these are as few and far between as being talented enough to even get there in the first place. The same goes for streaming, or playing exhibition matches for a brand: opportunities like these — while sometimes well-paid — just don’t come by often enough.