Key Concepts
- Esports Industry Growth: Global and Vietnamese market size, projected growth, and revenue streams.
- Esports Ecosystem: Sponsorship, media rights, digital advertising, merchandise, and job creation.
- Economic Impact: Local economic boosts and esports tourism.
- Soft Power: Esports as a tool for national branding and cultural influence.
- Vietnam Esports (VCS): Historical achievements, current status, and challenges.
- Challenges in Vietnamese Esports: Skill gap, financial instability for players, lack of comprehensive education for young talent, and reliance on experienced players.
- Solutions and International Models: KPA (Korea), LPL (China) as examples for management, finance, and player welfare.
- Strategic Partnerships: Collaboration with national media and international organizations.
- Da Nang as an Esports Hub: Hosting LCP Finals Weekend and future potential.
- Future of Vietnamese Esports: Need for comprehensive reform, investment, and strategic development.
Esports: A Global Economic Powerhouse and Vietnam's Potential
The 2025 League of Legends World Championship in China highlights the vibrant global esports scene, featuring top teams worldwide. Vietnam's representative, Team Secret Wales, entered the tournament as the second seed from the LCP region, showcasing impressive form to qualify for this international stage. Despite not winning the LCP championship, losing to CTBC Flying Oyster, Team Secret Wales still represents the pride of Vietnamese esports, marking a strong resurgence and establishing Vietnam's position on the global esports map. Vietnamese esports has previously left unforgettable marks on world championships, from Nocton's early game dominance in 2017 to the iconic comeback against Top Esports in 2022, recently honored by Riot Games in a music video celebrating 15 years of League of Legends esports history.
However, alongside these proud achievements, Vietnamese esports faces significant challenges in converting its potential into substantial breakthroughs in scale and economic value. The question arises: what is needed for Vietnamese esports to truly break through, reach its potential, and make a tangible contribution to socio-economic development in this era of national advancement?
The Global Esports Landscape: An Economic Goldmine and Future Workforce Ecosystem
Looking globally, esports is a significant economic force and a source of soft power in the digital age. It has evolved beyond a niche market. Recent reports project the global esports market to reach $4.8 billion by 2025, with strong growth expected to $25.4 billion by 2035. The Vietnamese esports market alone is projected to reach $51.1 million by 2033, with a compound annual growth rate of 16.2%. The global audience is anticipated to hit 640 million by 2025, creating a massive market.
This substantial revenue is generated from a diverse and complex ecosystem, with sponsorships forming the largest portion. These sponsorships come not only from gaming-related brands like Intel, Logitech, and Nvidia but also from a wide array of sectors including luxury goods (LV), automotive (Mercedes-Benz, Honda), finance (Mastercard), and consumer goods (Coca-Cola, Gillette). This broad participation underscores the appeal of young, tech-savvy audiences that traditional media struggles to reach.
Media rights for tournaments are being sold to streaming platforms like Twitch and YouTube, as well as major broadcasters like ESPN and BBC, with contracts worth hundreds of millions of dollars, signifying esports' recognition as a legitimate sport. Revenue from digital advertising, ticket sales for offline events that fill stadiums, and team merchandise sales are also growing robustly, providing stable income for organizations.
Crucially, this economic engine creates a future workforce ecosystem. Beyond high-earning professional athletes, the industry requires a vast workforce including coaches, data analysts, sports psychologists, casters, program producers, social media managers, marketers, and esports contract lawyers. These are high-skilled digital jobs aligning with global labor market trends.
Esports: A Catalyst for Local Economies and Sports Tourism
The power of esports also lies in its ability to generate direct economic momentum for host regions. Major international tournaments attract tens of thousands of fans globally, fostering a new form of tourism: esports tourism. The recent Intel Extreme Masters (IEM) Major Cologne generated approximately $29 million for the German city's economy through tourism, accommodation, dining, and entertainment. The 2023 League of Legends World Championship in South Korea had an indirect economic impact of up to $146 million, with over 60,000 international fans attending. These figures demonstrate that hosting a major esports event is not just a cultural activity but a smart economic investment that promotes city image and boosts the service industry.
Beyond economic value, esports serves as an effective tool for soft power. When South Korea's T1 team lifts the world championship trophy, they not only bring glory to their organization but also reinforce South Korea's image as a leader in technology and digital culture. The rise of Chinese esports teams in recent years is also part of Beijing's strategy to project a modern national image. The inclusion of esports in the Asian Games is the highest recognition of the industry's status to date.
Vietnamese Esports: An Unfinished Dream and Internal Challenges
Reflecting on the journey of Vietnamese esports, particularly the Vietnam Championship Series (VCS), reveals a story filled with emotional highs and lows, from the peak of pride to the depths of disappointment. The period from 2018 to 2024 marked the highest point for VCS, the premier League of Legends league in Vietnam, and one of the most competitive regions in Southeast Asia and the emerging global scene. After officially separating from the GPL region in 2018, VCS was recognized by Riot Games as an independent region, granting direct participation in major international tournaments like MSI and Worlds without needing to go through qualifiers.
On the international stage, VCS has not only developed its own fast-paced, high-impact playstyle but also left many memorable impressions. Gigabyte Marines achieved a remarkable feat at MSI 2017, defeating representatives from North America and Europe, forcing the world to view Vietnam differently. In MSI 2019, Phong Vu Buffalo continued to make waves with surprising victories against strong teams. Notably, at the 2022 World Championship, GAM Esports secured a historic win against Top Esports, the runner-up of the LPL, one of the championship contenders, with a breathtaking comeback in the final seconds. GAM eliminated Top Esports from the group stage, causing the Madison Square Garden crowd to erupt with cheers, solidifying their position as the "great spoiler" from VCS.
Domestically, the league's appeal has grown significantly. The VCS Summer 2024 finals reached a peak of over 340,000 concurrent viewers, an impressive number, nearing or surpassing many traditional sports in Vietnam. Vietnamese esports achievements at the SEA Games have also become increasingly prominent and a source of national pride. After winning its first medal at SEA Games 30 in 2019, a significant turning point came at SEA Game 31, where Vietnam, as the host nation, dominated all esports events, securing four gold medals and three silver medals, topping the overall medal standings for the region. Notably, the Vietnamese League of Legends team, with GAM Esports as its core, demonstrated absolute dominance under captain Levi. The players were nearly completely superior in the region, easily defeating the Philippines in the finals to bring home a historic gold medal, confirming their number one position in Southeast Asia. Alongside League of Legends, Vietnamese representatives also secured first place in titles like Wild Rift, Crossfire, and PUBG Mobile, demonstrating absolute professional quality in the region.
Entering 2025, Vietnamese esports marks another important milestone with a strategic partnership with national media entities, notably Onl TV, an interactive television platform specializing in esports under VTV Cap. This strategic collaboration with Team Secret Wales, Vietnam's representative at the 2025 World Championship, will see Onl TV provide comprehensive support for Team Secret Wales in training, competition, and image promotion. This initiative, starting with their journey at Worlds 2025, signifies a crucial step in efforts to accompany, promote the image, and elevate the status of Vietnamese esports on the international stage. Beyond VTV Cap, FPT Play has also become an official broadcaster of the 2025 Esports World Cup, bringing world-class tournaments closer to domestic audiences and contributing to connecting the Vietnamese esports community with the world. From impressive on-stage performances to advancements in media and governance, Vietnamese esports is showing a strong transformation, not just as an entertainment phenomenon but as a new-generation sports industry with national influence, firmly integrating into the regional and global sports landscape.
Despite its significant development potential, Vietnamese esports has struggled to achieve a true breakthrough for many years, primarily due to a skill gap compared to developed regions. This challenge reflects weaknesses in the professional operational system, where most players, except for a few stars, face unstable incomes and short careers under intense competitive pressure. This financial instability and lack of career direction inadvertently create a vulnerable environment where negative behaviors can emerge, posing a challenge to the sustainability of the entire industry. Concurrently, many young players with outstanding talent lack comprehensive education in financial management, personal branding, and career orientation – crucial skills for long-term survival in the modern esports environment. This situation serves as a wake-up call for the entire industry, highlighting the urgent need for comprehensive reform in management mechanisms, training processes, and policies for player protection and support. Only then can Vietnamese esports rebuild trust, solidify its foundation, and pave the way for sustainable development in the next phase.
Following VCS's integration into the Pacific Championship Series (PCS) by Riot Games, the reality of Vietnamese esports has become clearer, with the persistent issue of succession personnel. Teams still heavily rely on experienced veterans. Some teams have begun adopting youth training models, exemplified by Team Secret Wales with their Saigon Secret roster competing in VCS, also serving as an academy to support the main team in LCP. However, maintaining and developing these youth teams is costly, including expenses for gaming houses, equipment, player salaries, and coaching staff, making it difficult for many smaller teams to adopt this model. Financially, GAM Esports currently stands out with substantial support from brands and a large fanbase, built on a solid brand reputation over many years. In contrast, most other teams remain relatively obscure in terms of sponsorship and face difficulties in long-term investment. In this context, most Vietnamese esports organizations rely primarily on sponsorship from a few major sponsors and lack a robust financial model for youth training. This resource shortage creates a vicious cycle: without investment in training, new talent cannot be developed, leading to a decline in league quality, reduced market appeal, and difficulties in attracting larger investments. For the Vietnamese League of Legends ecosystem to develop sustainably and break through, it needs to learn from leading global League of Legends ecosystems in supporting teams and players. Adopting corporate governance models, combining strategic investment in training, and diversifying financial sources will be key to helping the Vietnamese esports industry overcome challenges and enter a phase of strong and sustainable development in the future.
Solutions from International Models
South Korea is renowned as an esports mecca with a solid foundation of success thanks to the Korea e-Sports Association (KeSPA). Beyond organizing major tournaments, KeSPA acts as a central governing body performing crucial functions for the industry. This includes:
- Implementing a minimum wage for professional players since 2014, along with requiring a minimum one-year contract to protect player rights and define clear obligations, preventing "slave contracts."
- Establishing a transparent referee system and dispute resolution mechanism to effectively handle internal conflicts between players and organizations.
- Collaborating closely with the government to advocate for esports recognition as an official sport, thereby receiving support policies such as tax incentives and favorable visa conditions for foreign athletes.
In 2025, Vietnam took a significant step by signing a Memorandum of Understanding with KeSPA to adopt professional management and operational standards. This collaboration signifies Vietnam's commitment to enhancing its legal framework, transparent governance processes, and player rights protection, while ensuring a fair and sustainable competitive environment. To effectively implement this commitment, Vietnam needs to strengthen the role and authority of the Vietnam e-Sports Association (VESF), thereby creating a safe and professional legal framework for the entire esports industry.
The diverse financial model of the LPL (China) is a prime example of sustainable esports industry development. According to the latest financial reports for 2024, the LPL generated an estimated revenue of over $500 million annually, primarily from media rights, multi-sector sponsorship deals, in-game digital item sales (like skins), event tickets, and official merchandise. Diversifying revenue streams allows the LPL not only to maintain financial stability but also to ensure sustainable development resources for teams, tournament organizers, and the surrounding ecosystem. Furthermore, the LPL supports teams by strengthening cooperation with publishers and streaming platforms, enhancing digital market exploitation efficiency through exclusive digital product releases, offline events, and brand promotion activities, creating new revenue streams that reduce reliance on often unstable traditional sponsorships.
The financial success of the LPL and LCK provides important lessons for Vietnamese esports. Adopting a multi-channel financial model, combining league franchising, subsidies for young players, and diversifying commercial revenue streams such as digital platform media rights, sponsorships, merchandise, and in-game digital products, is an effective direction to increase financial sustainability for the entire Vietnamese esports ecosystem, especially during this period of rapid market development and expansion.
Da Nang and the Beginning of Greater Ambitions
The LCP Summer 2025 Finals Weekend held at Tien Son Sports Palace in Da Nang in September marked a significant milestone. It was the first time a Vietnamese city hosted the finals of an Asia-Pacific regional esports tournament. Although the event's scale was modest with approximately 2,000 attendees, it was a crucial trial step opening up many lessons and future development opportunities. According to Mr. Nguyen Trong Thao, Deputy Director of the Da Nang Department of Culture, Sports, and Tourism, this event marked an important milestone for the development of the nation's esports and opened opportunities for Da Nang to position itself as a potential international esports destination. This is a long-term vision requiring continuous investment and learning from similar events in the region.
Pos Pilage, Head of LCP Product at Riot Games, emphasized the reasons for choosing Vietnam: "Vietnam is one of the most important markets with the most passionate and enthusiastic League of Legends fan community in the region." This assessment is based not only on the Da Nang event but also reflects the significant potential of the Vietnamese market with over 28 million gamers and an esports viewership ranking among the top 5 in Southeast Asia. Even more noteworthy is the symbolic significance of the event. The moment Team Secret Wales secured top 2 and earned their ticket to the 2025 World Championship on home soil provided crucial moral support for the entire Vietnamese esports scene after the fluctuations of 2024.
Looking ahead, the experience from the LCP Finals Weekend 2025 in Da Nang provides a foundation for Vietnam to build its capacity to organize larger international events. With Vietnam elected as the first president of the Southeast Asian Esports Federation, Vietnam has the opportunity to become the regional esports hub in the coming years. Da Nang, with its advantages in tourism infrastructure and strategic geographical location, can develop into a regular destination for international esports tournaments if there is substantial investment in specialized facilities, event organization capabilities, and a sustainable audience attraction strategy. Despite many challenges to overcome, the LCP Finals Weekend 2025 marks a promising beginning in the long-term journey of building Vietnam into the region's esports center.
The development journey of Vietnamese esports is an inspiring story, vividly reflecting the spirit of continuous progress in the digital age. Today, esports is no longer merely an entertainment game but has become an economic and cultural arena where the younger generation can showcase their talent, intellect, and aspirations to reach further in this era of integration. This is the crucial time to translate these aspirations into concrete actions, thereby building a comprehensive development foundation that will allow Vietnam to stand shoulder-to-shoulder with esports powerhouses in the region and the world.
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