Top three eSports countries per year APAC 2013-2023, by prize money earned

South Korea was the highest-earning eSports nation in the Asia-Pacific region in 2013, but was overtaken by China in 2014. Alternating with the United States, China was the highest or second highest-earning eSports nation worldwide in the years between 2014 and 2023. In 2023, players and teams from China made a total of over 26.1 million U.S. dollars in eSports prize money.

 eSports professionals in China and South Korea

The number of professional gamers in China has increased significantly throughout the past twenty years, from just five pro players back in 2001 to a player base of over a thousand in recent years, of which the top-earning players have made multi-million U.S. dollar incomes since the starts of their careers. Sang Hyeok Lee, also known as Faker, is one of South Korea’s leading League of Legends players by prize money earned and has made over a million U.S. dollars playing the multiplayer online battle arena (MOBA) game professionally.

eSports popularity in Asia

While eSports familiarity in the Asia-Pacific region is still low in some countries, the number of eSports viewers is on the rise, having already crossed the half-billion mark across Asia. Due to its popularity, eSports will debut as an official discipline at the 2022 Asian Games, to be held in Hangzhou in China in September 2023, where players will be competing in eight medal events.