The Board of Indonesian Esports (PBESI) and Garudaku announced the launching of the National Esports League 2023 (previously known as the Nusantara League), which will be managed according to government regulations.
A few weeks ago, PBESI secretary general Frengky Ong announced that PBESI intends to establish an open esports league in Indonesia to accommodate esports talents, particularly in the Mobile Legends: Bang Bang competition, who want to compete but are limited by the high entry fees set to enter the franchise league, the MPL ID.
PBESI and its digital esports platform, Garudaku, ultimately announced details regarding an esports tournament in Indonesia dubbed the 2023 National Esports League in the opening week of June 2023. This will be the first official tournament conducted entirely by PBESI, with no involvement from third party. LEN 2023 will be opened for free to both seasoned and inexperienced Indonesian residents.
Furthermore, the National Esports League will follow similar rules to popular sports competition in Indonesia, namely the Indonesian football and basketball league, including a relegation and promotion system. LEN 2023 will eventually have three levels: League 1, League 2, and League 3. To compete in this tournament, every participants must have a complete team structure, which including team logos, regular and reserve players, coaches, and management team. PBESI pledges that all 38 provinces in Indonesia will be given equal chance to participate in this competition.
So far PBESI and Garudaku have not released further statements regarding which games will be contested at LEN 2023. Most sources on social media pointed out that MLBB games will be the main competition at LEN 2023. However, PBESI said they have considered several popular games in Indonesia as well in order to improve the esports ecosystem in Indonesia.
Not everyone is fan of
At the moment, PBESI and Garudaku are promoting LEN 2023 on social media and are reportedly planning to hold a road show to introduce the league to areas outside Jakarta. While most Indonesian citizens positively responded this ambitious project, some began to criticize and doubt the longevity of this project.
The majority of MLBB pundits in Indonesia recently commented on this project on social media. They emphasised the failure of efforts launched by PBESI two years earlier to create a comparable league. They also doubt PBESI’s dedication, given it has yet to organise the women’s-only esports championship that they have been talking about since 2022.
Apart from that, PBESI is again in the limelight due to leaked informations that were recently opened to the public. Yesterday, Erico “Godiva” of the MLBB Aura Fire team stated that professional teams and players, including himself, who are registered to PBESI have to pay an annual administration fee. Godiva’s post sparked outrage within the Indonesian esports community, who wanted explanations from the organisation and labelling the rules as nothing sort of extortion money.
At this point the PBESI has not responded to the leaks. However, PBESI spokesperson Lukas Sidharta stated that the annual adminstration fee would be used to cover the expense of a specific esports membership in Indonesia, and it has not been fully approved until further talks with the esports community and organisations takes place.
