Esports players set hot pace in Southeast Asia

The Philippines' Juban said, "The region has seen a large growth spurt in terms of video games production, consumption, and now competition."

He said the proliferation of internet cafes in the early 2000s "created a user base not only for surfing and social media but for games consumption as well".

"Competition became the natural progression (for serious online gamers)," Juban said.

However, internet cafes, which once contributed to the growth of the region's esports community, may soon give way to smartphones.

According to market research companies, mobile gaming is the future for Southeast Asia's esports, given the affordability of phones.

Newzoo, a company based in Amsterdam, the Netherlands, that specializes in games and esports research, said 67 percent of Southeast Asia's games revenue comes from mobiles.

"Clearly, Southeast Asia is a mobile-first market," Newzoo said in its report last year.

Niko Partners said there were 527 million smartphone users in the Greater Southeast Asian Region last year－a figure that will grow to 679 million by 2023.

Some 40 percent of these smartphone users play mobile games, and the launch of fifth generation wireless technology, or 5G, is expected to boost mobile gaming.

Niko Partners predicts that revenue from mobile gaming alone in the region will rise from $2.89 billion last year to $5.20 billion in 2023.