When Pawat Ampaporn began playing League Of Legends at the age of 15, the thought of becoming a professional, internationally-recognised player never even occurred to him. Like most boys his age, Pawat was content with just playing the game for fun, unaware that it would eventually become his gateway to fame.
Electronic sports, like other professional sports, feature teams, leagues, athletes, sponsorship and a whole package of spectator sports (see box), except that their arena is the domain of digital games. It's rather new to Thailand, but some local boys like Pawat have already made their mark -- as well as earned a living playing games.