Rise of Esports in Bangladesh
What is Esports:
Electronic sports also known as Esports means organized video gaming competition where professional players compete with each other. They compete on different platforms like PC consoles, mobile phones etc. Esports has captured the hearts of many young boys and girls and created many dynamic Digital athletes. In modern days esports are redefining the concept of sportsmanship around the world and Bangladesh is no exception .
Emergence of Esports in Bangladesh:
The seeds of esports sown in Bangladesh in the early 2000s .That time internet cafes gained their popularity. Gamers would go to an internet cafe to play multiplayer games. Soon different types of local gaming competitions started to be arranged and gaming tournaments became a common thing. Young Gamers started to take part in this tournament and win prize money. That was the start of esports in Bangladesh.According to Dhaka tribune esports players of Bangladesh have represented the country in the events of various global platforms as early as 2007 for example world cyber games Also known as WCG which was popular at that decade.
(https://www.dhakatribune.com/business/economy/249219/esports-in-bangladesh-an-untapped-industry-on-the )
Nowadays tournaments of different online multiplayer games like Dota 2, Valorant , Counter strike, League of legends are arranged in Bangladesh.
Impact of Esports in Bangladesh:
Esports has opened up a new career for young people of Bangladesh . Esports players are digital athletes. They are the players of the new generation. The value of the esports industry is USD to 1.39 billion in 2023.So it means it is a great career choice for young people in Bangladesh. Esports give us digital athletes like Abu Hasnat Alvi (6NiN3),Noman Al Rafi Durlov (DANTE), Md Abdul Jabbar Shakeel(SINISTER) etc. Esports has broken the gender barriers, creating a space for both male and female digital athletes .One of my friends is an esports player. She took part in many tournaments where she competed with both male and female players.This proves that esports is a place where both male and female players can participate equally. Gaming helps people to bring out their hidden skills . Many esports players have discovered their hidden talent like leadership problems solving skills etc. which help them in real life. Esports are also a great source of income . Esports can earn money from tournaments they have won. They can also earn money by streaming gameplay in different platforms like twitch ,YouTube gaming etc.Also esports players get a lot of sponsorship so they can earn money from there too.
Challenges and obstacles :
Being an esports player in Bangladesh is quite difficult . In this country, an esports player has to face a lot of challenges and obstacles. The first obstacle they face is to convince their parents.Almost all the parents in Bangladesh are backdated. There is a huge generation gap between them and us.So naturally they do not understand the concept of esports and professional gaming.Most of them think that gaming is just a hobby and it can't be taken as a real career. Also they think that this path is fully dependent on luck and not all gamers can make money.It is true to some extent but doesn't it go with all professions.Personally I think not all the cricket players can become part of the National Cricket Team or all the engineers get jobs in a reputed company. Like that not all gamers can become famous esports players or famous streamers . The person has to become the best in his field to earn the highest facilities his career can offer . It is the same for esports too. But Bangladeshi parents aren't convinced to take the risk. The second problem is technology advancement.Our country isn't very Technologically advanced . For example, Internet connections in our country are not stable and very weak .The third problem esports players face is lack of authorities attention. The authorities are apathetic about esports. Moreover they treat esports players like they are worth nothing . In July 2020 , an unfortunate event took place in Chuadanga 108 gamers including famous esports players like sinister were arrested by police for participating in a pubg mobile tournament.Most of them were school and college students. It was a humiliating and horrible experience for all of those gamers, especially those who are detained overnight.
Also I think our news media are always trying to portray gaming as a bad thing. In the Chuadanga incident many news media stated that all of those players were there to gamble as many of them consider gaming as gambling which was a complete false accusation .
Future of Esports :
In spite of a lot of obstacles, our esports players are doing pretty good.In 2020 Bangladeshi team A1 esports placed 15th in Pubg Mobile Global Championship(PMGC) .According to Dhaka Tribune,73 players of Bangladesh awarded 0.2 million dollar across 70 tournaments . Nowadays tournaments of games like Valorant, Dota 2, CS:GO,etc. are arranged.A large numbers of Bangladeshi gamers earn money by streaming their gameplay in twitch and youtube . Also the mindset of Bangladeshi people is also changing and I think this is a hint that Bangladesh has a bright future in esports.
Conclusion :
Esports is the sport of the new era . The rise of esports in Bangladesh marks a new era of digital athletes. It is slowly redefining the sportsmanship of Bangladesh.In my opinion someday it will change the landscape of Bangladesh’s Sports and entertainment and people will treat esport like any other sports.
About the Author:
This blog is written by a student of BRAC University named Saumik Barua. He was born and raised in Chattogram city . He passed his SSC exam from Chattogram Collegiate School and HSC from Chattogram Cantonment Public College. He is a former member of Chattogram KiA Book Club . Currently he is an undergrad studying Computer Science and Engineering at BRAC university.
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