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Jun 07, 2024

BLEED Esports: Champions Forging Singapore's Path in Global Esports

Electronic sports, or Esports, have gained global traction over the past few years. Simply put, Esports is competitive video gaming at a professional level. While the concept has been around for a

Electronic sports, or Esports, have gained global traction over the past few years. Simply put, Esports is competitive video gaming at a professional level. While the concept has been around for a long time, the rapid rise of digitization in recent years has unlocked a whole other world. According to Statista, “There are expected to be over 318 million Esports enthusiasts worldwide, a significant increase from the 215.2 million in 2020.” As with physical games and matches, tens of millions of fans worldwide unite during Esports tournaments to support their favorite teams. Singapore’s BLEED Esports is one such fan favorite.

At the time of writing, BLEED Esports is the biggest Singaporean Esports organization in the country, with multiple titles and championships. These include winning the VALORANT 2023 Ascension championship, DOTA 2 DPC SEA 2023 Tour 3 Division I, SEA League 2023, and Mobile Legends: Bang Bang’s MPL Singapore Season 5 Regular Season. Individual wins aside, the organization’s greatest achievement was bringing glory to their country by representing it well on the global stage.

“We are in a region where Esports is not common yet,” BLEED Esports COO Ian Huston explains. “Even so, we managed to win multiple championships by having championship-caliber players represent our team.” Despite hosting the most watched Esports of all time, the 2021 Free Fire World Series, Singapore is still a relative underdog in the Esports arena. That’s one of the factors that motivated Huston and his team to embark on his mission to shine the spotlight on their country’s capabilities.

Initially, getting championship-ready players to join the team wasn’t an easy task. As an unknown, few players were willing to risk moving to Singapore when they could continue playing for more established European teams. Undeterred, the team at BLEED Esports switched gears and focused on first building a local team comprising five Singaporeans. This team ended up winning the SEA Esports championship in 2021, propelling BLEED Esports into the limelight.

Winning more championships did the rest of the work for BLEED Esports. Pro players started signing with the organization and moving to Singapore, where the company is headquartered. Today, the organization has grown into 4 championship teams in the game titles: DOTA 2, VALORANT, Rainbow 6 Siege, and Mobile Legends Bang Bang. BLEED Esports VALORANT team currently boasts an 18 wins-streak.

In three short years, BLEED Esports’ dream of placing Singapore on the global Esports map came true, and the organization the team invested so much into has expanded. However, that’s just the beginning of what this team of Esports visionaries hopes to achieve. With total Esports revenues expected to grow exponentially in the foreseeable future, Huston hopes to leverage the increased demand and scale his company into global stardom. His ultimate goal is to build more and stronger teams that will dominate multiple categories, further propelling Singapore to the top of the worldwide Esports charts.

If there’s one thing Huston has learned over the past three years, it’s the power of persistence. No matter how many closed doors he encounters, he knows there’s a way if he looks at the issue from another angle, so he never gives up. “Entrepreneurs shouldn’t be scared of a fresh start,” Ian Huston reiterates. “Going up against the top dogs may seem daunting but the truth is, every dog has its days.”