Spurring the Spirit of e-sports Tournament, BCA Supports 2019 Presidential Cup

Jakarta, 28 January 2019 – In a rapidly developing times, the world of sports has also developed over time. E-sports, one of the recent phenomenons that’s recently been setting the sports stage and engaged by the millennials. Realizing this, PT Bank Central Asia Tbk (BCA), which also focuses on the millennials, gives immense support and participates in one of the ‘nowadays’ line of sports, the Presidential Cup 2019 which organizes an e-sports competition.

Attending the press conference to provide detail on the Presidential Cup was Executive Vice President Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) of BCA Inge Setiawati, Presidential Chief Staff of the Republic of Indonesia (RI) Moeldoko, Head of the Creative Economy Agency (BEKRAF) RI Triawan Munaf, Minister of Communication and Information of the Republic of Indonesia Rudiantara, Minister of Youth and Sports of the Republic of Indonesia Imam Nahrawi, and President of IESPL Giring Ganesha in Jakarta, (28/01).  

“BCA sees the e-sports trend among the millennials is now starting to grow. Not only is it a trend abroad, the Indonesian youngsters also possess their own unique identity in the field of e-sports. The fact that e-sports global phenomenon was already started in 1972 becomes one of the new sport options for the ‘nowadays’ youth. This has certainly motivated BCA to support the Presidential Cup 2019 that initiated this e-sports tournament,” explained Inge.

E-sport is electronic sports that rely on an internet connection and is associated with games. The popularity of e-sports in Indonesia have grown inceasingly because for the first time it is listed in official sports at the Asian Games 2018, which took place in Jakarta and Palembang. Previously, e-sports was only held by no-sports organizations or communities. The inclusion of e-sports in Asian Games solidified the image that e-sports is competitive sports.

“We would like to create an inclusive and healthy ecosystem that can be accepted by wider community. In the future, these creative individuals, who are involved in it, will be ready to compete at international stage,” said the Head of BEKRAF Triawan Munaf.

Minister of Youth and Sports Imam Nahrawi hopes that by playing games, people can also make achievements. “The E-sports 2019 Presidential Cup will facilitate Indonesian gamers and no longer be underrated,” said Imam.

Initiated by IESPL, an E-sports League Organization, the vision of organizing the Presidential Cup this time is to shape Indonesia as the winners in e-sports segment and build a healthy ecosystem for Indonesian e-sports. The format of the competition is divided into two categories, namely professional and regional. In professional category, 12 teams from IESPL will be invited, in which they will also open the registration for the team that will take part in the qualifying rounds. For regional category, the IESPL will open opportunities for participating teams that will represent eight regions in Indonesia. The eight regions include Palembang, Denpasar, Surabaya, Makassar, Manado, Solo, Pontianak, and Bekasi.

Below is the schedules and venue locations of the regional qualifying rounds in eight regions:

In order to succeed in international competitions, such as Asian Games 2022, Minister of Communication and Information Rudiantara hopes that in the future the public will give a full support to Indonesian gamers. “We have 43 million gamers; but, skill alone is not enough, it is also need full support from the entire community,” he said.

“The presence of IESPL was inspired by the dreams of Mr. Joko Widodo, who wanted the progress in the e-sports ecosystem. Equipped with the experience of organizing multi-branch e-sports league followed by the teams in the country, the IESPL hopes that the Presidential Cup can be an annual cup fo all teams in Indonesia to look forward to. In line with our enthusiasm and commitment to raising the Indonesian e-sports scheme, the Presidential Cup is also expected to be able to find and nurture outstanding players in order to compete for Indonesia in International stage,” said President of IESPL Giring Ganesha.  

Inge added, e-sports that have grown rapidly abroad is now starting to grow and influence the millennials in Indonesia. The stigma of gaming has slowly faded because in reality e-sports brings new fresh air in the young people’s culture, it has even been enlisted in one of the sports branches in Asian sports celebration. “We hope that the support for the Presidential Cup can contribute to sportsmanship values in sports for the young people, while at the same time helping to improve the management and infrastructure of e-sports in Indonesia,” Inge concluded.

BCA Supports E-Sports 2019 Presidential Cup - Executive Vice President Corporate Social Responsibility of BCA Inge Setiawati together with President of IESPL Giring Ganesha, CEO of Blibli.com Kusumo Martanto, President Chief of Staff of the Republic of Indonesia (RI) Moeldoko, Ambassador of Presidential Cup Maungzy, Minister of Communication and Information of the Republic of Indonesia Rudiantara, Ambassador of Presidential Cup Tobias Justin, Minister of Youth and Sports of the Republic of Indonesia Imam Nahrawi, Head of the Indonesian Creative Economy Agency of the Republic of Indonesia Triawan Munaf during the E-Sports 2019 Presidential Cup Press Conference  in Jakarta, Monday (28/01). BCA’s supports for the Presidential Cup can contribute to sportsmanship values in sports for the millennials, while also contributing to improving the management and infrastructure of e-sports in Indonesia.