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What they talk about when they talk about Indonesian e-sports
President Joko “Jokowi” Widodo-backed President's Cup and Free Fire tournaments are among the playgrounds for Indonesian e-sports players to hone their skills.
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An e-sports player competes during a Free Fire category tournament in the finals of a regional qualifying round for the 2020 E-Sports President’s Cup in Bandung, West Java on Jan. 19. (Antara/Novrian Arbi)
T
he electronic sports (e-sports) industry in Indonesia has been getting full recognition in the past two years, attracting many parties to plunge into the world of digital games that offers mouthwatering prestige and prize money.
The active players in the industry have been trying to dispel the stigma of e-sports, which many still regard as a dud or simply pleasurable activity without any productive purpose, which could harm child development.
Read also: Govt hopes regulation on e-sports will dispel stigma
The inclusion of e-sports at the 2018 Asian Games in Jakarta and Palembang, South Sumatra as an exhibition sport played a vital role in diminishing such stigma and put e-sports on an equal footing with others. A year after the Jakarta-Palembang event, e-sports received an upgrade as it was contested in the medal program of the 2019 Southeast Asian (SEA) Games in the Philippines.
The industry players have intensively boosted their efforts to strengthen the e-sports ecosystem by working directly with the government to formulate regulations. The local community has also created a series of big tournaments to trawl for more talents and foster public awareness of the sport.
Presidents Cup
President Joko “Jokowi” Widodo vowed to develop the gaming industry as one of the drivers for the country’s economic growth -- a promise he delivered during a presidential election debate last April.
