Thailand is a brewing pot of young, ambitious talent that doesn’t cease to amaze. With the country now being more connected that ever, eSports games have seen a massive rise in the Kingdom of Thailand.
In this article, we’re going to go over the most popular eSports games in Thailand, using historical date like the active number of players for an eSports title alongside the total earnings of notable players within Thailand.
This list ranks these games based on its future potential, current standing, and the number of active Thai players that currently play the game alongside local tournament scenes and the number of betting sites that actively support the game.
Valorant
The most popular eSport game in Thailand currently is Valorant. With over 239 active professional players, the game sees major local tournaments in the country. Team XERXIA is the most notable Thai team to play Valorant, with players like sushiboys and Surf making a name for themsleves in the global stage.
With most SEA regions preferring Valorant over CS2, it comes to no one’s surprise that Valorant retains its position as the most popular eSports game in Thailand for more than a few years now.
Free Fire
Free Fire, initially considered a spin-off of PUBG:Mobile has surprisingly overtaken its inspiration in terms of active playerbase and eSports players in Thailand. This is primarily due to Garena, Free Fire’s parent company’s agressive marketing in the SEA region.
With money to invest in tournaments, Thailand has given to professionals like Joena and The Cruz, with both of them having individual earnings that cross over $300,000 with these players making a name for themselves in the global stage too.
Arena of Valor
Arena of Valor is a third-person mobile MOBA game developed by TiMi studios. Inspired by Dota 2, SMITE and League of Legends, this title is extremely easy-to-play, runs on any mobile device, and features a skill curve that’s easy to start off with and hard to master.
Couple that with great interest in the local Thai community and you get players like Moowan and MarkKy. In fact, Thailand is the 2nd highest earning country for Arena of Valor, only coming behind China.
Dota 2
While not the most popular game in Thailand, Dota 2 still deserves a mention on the list thankls to Anucha “Jabz” Jirawong, the current richest eSports player in Thai history. An active member of Team Aurora, Jabz has singlehandedly led to the resurgence of Dota 2 within the Thai scene, stemming young talent like 23, who also happens to be his teammate.
While the game doesn’t generate as much attention as it did a few years ago, the prize pools still remain nothing to scoff at, thanks to tournaments like The International and the recently debuted Riyadh Masters.
PUBG:Mobile
Its clear that mobile games and Thailand have a bit of a trend. And, that trend remains steady with PUBG:Mobile, being the second highest earning game for Thai players only being behind Arena of Valor in terms of overall volume.
With players like Stoned and SchwepXz leading the charge, PUBG:Mobile doesn’t have as many lucrative tournaments as Free Fire now does. But, it still remains an active eSports title within the region and retains its dominance for now.
