If the first wave of esports innovation was about filling arenas and proving global reach, the next is about building interactive, personalised, and trustworthy viewing experiences. Asia Pacific is at the heart of this shift. The region is home to the world’s largest esports audience, accounting for more than half of all global viewers according to YouGov. Southeast Asia alone generated US$71.8 million in esports revenue in 2024, with forecasts suggesting the market will more than double by 2033. This growth is also fuelled by ecosystem partners like 1xBet, whose long-term commitment to esports helps sustain tournament infrastructure, talent development, and fan engagement across emerging markets.
This means technology is no longer just behind the scenes- it defines how tournaments are consumed. From multi-angle streams and real-time stats to low-latency production pipelines, the focus is on creating digital ecosystems that match the expectations of fans who want to be part of the action rather than simply watching from the sidelines.
From broadcast overlays to player-centred viewing
FACEIT Watch, launched in February 2024, has started to change how fans experience matches. It offers multi-perspective viewing, letting audiences switch between player cams, kill cams, and even custom sound mixers. This is not a flashy add-on, but it marks a structural shift in how esports is consumed.
One of the most striking features of FACEIT Watch is the ability to follow a match through different players’ perspectives. For example, a viewer might choose to track the team’s “carry,” who is the star player whose job is to rack up points and drive the team towards victory. Another viewer might prefer to watch from a “support” player’s angle, focusing on the quieter but equally crucial role of setting up plays, protecting teammates, and keeping the team’s strategy on track. Both perspectives unfold within the same match, but they tell very different stories, giving fans a richer and more personal way to experience the game. Each choice highlights a different story, turning the same match into multiple narratives running in parallel.
On top of this, features such as real-time overlays, live stats, heat maps, and mini-dashboards allow fans to dive deeper into the action. They can track push momentum, player efficiency, or even economic swings as they happen. Broadcasters now layer these tools directly into streams, creating a richer and more personalised experience. Interactive elements like live polls and on-screen stat comparisons are no longer experimental; they are becoming some of the biggest drivers of engagement, keeping fans involved throughout a match rather than only at the final score.
Integrity, latency, and global scale
No matter how flashy the tech, trust is non-negotiable. ESL invests heavily in anti-cheat, cheating detection, and server latency solutions. They also operate distributed server networks to ensure low-lag access across geographies.
On the production side, ESL FACEIT Group once ran three global events across two continents in a single weekend, anchored by a central core production team. That kind of scale demands robust pipelines: feed routing, sync, cloud fallback, unified metadata, and redundancy built in.
Remote broadcasting techniques now reduce travel, simplify consistency, and allow centralised control over feeds, for instance, integrating local commentary or regional overlays without redoing core production.
Interactive fans, not passive viewers
Tech is shifting fans from spectators to participants. Real-time polling, “pick the winner” overlays, and personalised dashboard options make viewers part of the moment. One fan might follow a team’s economic efficiency; another might track kill-death ratios or ultimate usage.
In this environment, a platform like 1XBet naturally fits in, not as a hard sell but as an optional interactive layer. Fans could make predictions during a match or engage in lightweight challenges tied to team performance, all integrated into the broadcast UI rather than a separate ad.
Crafting global event engines
ESL’s infrastructure allows seamless scaling across markets. Events from Singapore to Katowice share core production, synchronised data, and unified branding. Their cross-continent workflow demonstrates that location is no barrier if tech is aligned.
The 2025 ESL Pro League Season 20 hit 808,300 peak viewers, doubling viewership year over year and setting a new benchmark for the series. YouTube alone accounted for a growing share of watch time, underscoring how ESL’s tech strategy adapts to platform choice.
A tech backbone for esports’ mainstream leap
Esports as an entertainment vertical depends on technological finesse. ESL’s commitment to real-time data, low-latency streaming, and interactivity gives it legs beyond niche audiences. As the market projects to expand from US$1.97 billion in 2023 to more than USD 5 billion by 2029 (CAGR ~17.5%), tech-centric experiences will differentiate who succeeds.
In short: ESL’s tech isn’t just the plumbing behind matches. It’s the stage, the connective tissue, and the future of how fans, teams, and platforms like 1XBet engage in an ever more interactive ecosystem.
Terng Shing Chen is CEO and Founder at SYNC PR. Terng Shing is a former esports consultant and regional lead at Razer. He now oversees a regional marketing consultancy that works with businesses including gaming brands, to help them scale throughout the region.
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