Esports in Malaysia by State 2026: All 16 Ranked by Tournament Activity
By KITAMEN • July 2026
Executive Summary
- All 16 Malaysian states and federal territories hosted at least one tracked esports event in 2026 — including Kelantan, with exactly one.
- Selangor and Kuala Lumpur take 107 of 265 physical events between them — but that is only 40%, so the majority of Malaysian esports happens outside the Klang Valley.
- Volume and money are different maps: Terengganu ran 5 events at a RM10,000 median, five times the national figure, while Sabah ran 12 at RM600.
Every Malaysian state, ranked by esports activity
The Klang Valley is the centre of gravity, as you would expect — but less so than the headline picture suggests. Once the professional circuits are stripped out (they cluster in Kuala Lumpur), grassroots esports turns out to be markedly less centralised: 107 of 265 physical events, or 40%. The other 60% is spread across the country.
Sarawak at number three is the result that surprises people most — ahead of Johor and Pulau Pinang, off a much smaller population base. It gets its own analysis, because 20 of its 29 events are PUBG Mobile.
Which states actually pay
Ranking by prize money produces a completely different table, and this is the most useful thing on this page for anyone planning where to compete or where to run an event.
Terengganu tops it at a RM10,000 median off just five events — a small number of seriously funded tournaments, led by the RM30,000 Terengganu International Esport Showdown. Putrajaya (RM4,000) and Pulau Pinang (RM3,500) follow. At the other end, Sabah ran 12 events at a RM600 median and Kelantan one at RM500.
The lesson for a player: busy does not mean lucrative. Selangor has 59 events at a RM2,000 median; Terengganu has 5 at five times that. The lesson for an organiser is the mirror image — the states with high medians and low counts are the ones with money and nobody spending it.
Regional taste is real, and unmapped
The single most commercially useful finding in the whole dataset is that Malaysians do not all play the same game, and the differences are big enough to plan around:
- Sarawak is PUBG Mobile country — 20 of 29 events, found in no other state.
- Johor is a football-game state — the only state where EA Sports FC outranks Mobile Legends.
- Selangor is the fighting-game capital — 7 of the country’s 34 Tekken 8 or Street Fighter 6 events.
- Kedah leads with eFootball and Tekken 8, not Mobile Legends.
- Sabah is football-heavy — 8 of its 12 events feature a football title.
If you are planning a national roadshow off a Klang Valley title assumption, you will show up in Kuching with the wrong game. The title-by-title guide covers each game nationally.
State by state
Each state below is ranked by tracked physical events, with its median prize and dominant titles. Online events are excluded throughout, because they have no state.
Esports in Selangor
59 tracked physical events · median prize RM2,000 · 40 events with a stated prize, totalling RM170,500 · top titles: Mobile Legends (30), Tekken 8 (6), Street Fighter 6 (6).
The biggest scene in the country and the fighting-game capital: 7 of the 34 events featuring Tekken 8 or Street Fighter 6 are here, more than any other state.
Esports in Kuala Lumpur
48 tracked physical events · median prize RM3,400 · 32 events with a stated prize, totalling RM203,565 · top titles: Mobile Legends (17), EA Sports FC (14), PUBG Mobile (10).
Second on volume but first on money among the busy states, and the most title-diverse scene in Malaysia — Mobile Legends leads, but EA Sports FC is close behind on 14.
Esports in Sarawak
29 tracked physical events · median prize RM2,000 · 18 events with a stated prize, totalling RM40,030 · top titles: PUBG Mobile (20), Mobile Legends (6), EA Sports FC (6).
The outlier. Third nationally, and PUBG Mobile country — 20 of its 29 events, a pattern found nowhere else.
Esports in Johor
20 tracked physical events · median prize RM1,800 · 17 events with a stated prize, totalling RM47,300 · top titles: EA Sports FC (9), Mobile Legends (8), PUBG Mobile (3).
The only state in Malaysia where EA Sports FC outranks Mobile Legends. A football-game state.
Esports in Pahang
17 tracked physical events · median prize RM1,500 · 15 events with a stated prize, totalling RM44,240 · top titles: Mobile Legends (11), eFootball (8), Honor of Kings (2).
Punches above its weight, and unusually eFootball-heavy for a peninsular state.
Esports in Melaka
16 tracked physical events · median prize RM2,500 · 12 events with a stated prize, totalling RM28,250 · top titles: Mobile Legends (8), EA Sports FC (3), Gran Turismo 7 (2).
Home to Ancient Galaxy Esports Hub, one of the few repeat purpose-built venues in the country.
Esports in Negeri Sembilan
12 tracked physical events · median prize RM1,000 · 10 events with a stated prize, totalling RM25,050 · top titles: Mobile Legends (7), EA Sports FC (5), eFootball (3).
A modest scene with a low median — RM1,000, half the national figure.
Esports in Pulau Pinang
12 tracked physical events · median prize RM3,500 · 10 events with a stated prize, totalling RM36,300 · top titles: Mobile Legends (8), eFootball (5), PUBG Mobile (2).
Fewer events than its size suggests, but a RM3,500 median — the third-highest in Malaysia.
Esports in Sabah
12 tracked physical events · median prize RM600 · 11 events with a stated prize, totalling RM38,300 · top titles: EA Sports FC (5), Mobile Legends (4), Tekken 8 (3).
The lowest median in the country at RM600, but a strong football-game presence: 8 of its 12 events feature a football title.
Esports in Perak
9 tracked physical events · median prize RM1,800 · 8 events with a stated prize, totalling RM15,900 · top titles: Mobile Legends (8), EA Sports FC (3), eFootball (2).
Mobile Legends-dominant and squarely mid-table.
Esports in Perlis
8 tracked physical events · median prize RM2,000 · 7 events with a stated prize, totalling RM16,750 · top titles: Mobile Legends (8), eFootball (4), PUBG Mobile (3).
The smallest state in Malaysia by population, yet it out-hosts Labuan, Terengganu and Putrajaya — and pays a RM2,000 median.
Esports in Kedah
8 tracked physical events · median prize RM1,000 · 8 events with a stated prize, totalling RM14,000 · top titles: eFootball (5), Tekken 8 (4), EA Sports FC (4).
Unusual mix: eFootball and Tekken 8 lead here, not Mobile Legends.
Esports in Labuan
5 tracked physical events · median prize RM2,500 · 4 events with a stated prize, totalling RM10,000 · top titles: eFootball (4), Mobile Legends (2), PUBG Mobile (2).
Tiny but active for its size, and eFootball-led.
Esports in Terengganu
5 tracked physical events · median prize RM10,000 · 5 events with a stated prize, totalling RM52,850 · top titles: eFootball (3), Mobile Legends (3), Street Fighter 6 (1).
The money outlier. Just 5 events, but a RM10,000 median — five times the national figure. Few events, seriously funded.
Esports in Putrajaya
4 tracked physical events · median prize RM4,000 · 4 events with a stated prize, totalling RM21,850 · top titles: EA Sports FC (2), eFootball (2), Mobile Legends (2).
Small count, high median (RM4,000) — an administrative capital hosting government-backed events like the TVET championship at Dataran Putrajaya.
Esports in Kelantan
1 tracked physical events · median prize RM500 · 1 events with a stated prize, totalling RM500 · top titles: EA Sports FC (1).
One tracked event all year, an EA Sports FC competition paying RM500. The clearest white space in Malaysian esports.
Local Insight: where the white space is
Three gaps stand out, and all three are addressable.
Kelantan: one event. A state of nearly two million people recorded a single tracked esports tournament in seven months. Whatever the reason, it is the clearest unserved market in the country.
The high-median, low-count states. Terengganu, Putrajaya and Pulau Pinang all pay well above the national median off very few events. That combination — money present, events scarce — is the most attractive profile on this page for an organiser.
Institutional rooms outside the Klang Valley. Outside Selangor and KL, the venue mix is dominated by campuses, dewan and malls rather than esports venues. That means the bottleneck is organising capacity, not demand or facilities. Our national data pillar covers the venue and timing patterns in full.
Method and source
Source: esportscentral.my event listings, pulled 15 July 2026. Scope: 414 events dated 2026 in Malaysia — 372 open community-tier events and 42 professional circuit events, separated by whether the prize pool is denominated in ringgit or US dollars. Full method and the caveats are in the Malaysian esports data pillar.
Read these numbers honestly: they cover events listed on esportscentral.my — small kampung and campus tournaments never get posted, so every figure is a floor, not a total. August-onward listings are incomplete because organisers publish only two to six weeks ahead, so this is a January to July 2026 picture. Game-title counts are “events featuring the title”: events running more than one title appear in more than one row, so those rows must never be added together. Prize medians are nearest-rank.
Frequently Asked Questions
Which Malaysian state has the most esports tournaments?
Selangor, with 59 tracked physical events in 2026, ahead of Kuala Lumpur on 48 and Sarawak on 29. All 16 states and federal territories hosted at least one tracked event.
Do all Malaysian states have esports tournaments?
Yes. Every one of the 16 states and federal territories recorded at least one tracked grassroots esports event between January and July 2026. Kelantan recorded exactly one — an EA Sports FC competition paying RM500.
Is Malaysian esports concentrated in Kuala Lumpur?
Less than people assume. Selangor and Kuala Lumpur together account for 107 of 265 physical grassroots events — about 40 per cent — so the majority happens elsewhere. The professional circuits are far more KL-centric than the community scene.
Which Malaysian state has the biggest esports prize pools?
Terengganu, with a median prize of RM10,000 across five events — five times the national median of RM1,950. Putrajaya (RM4,000) and Pulau Pinang (RM3,500) follow. Sabah has the lowest median at RM600.
Which state is the best place to run an esports event in Malaysia?
It depends on what you want. Selangor and Kuala Lumpur have the deepest audience and the most venues. But Terengganu, Putrajaya and Pulau Pinang combine high median prize pools with very few events, which means money in the market and little competition for it.
Call to Action
KITAMEN has run esports events in most of the states on this page, from Klang Valley mall activations to campus championships in Borneo. If you are planning something in a state that is underserved on this list, contact KITAMEN or explore our services. Running your own event? Dafta handles registration, entry fees and QR check-in, free to use.
Related Knowledgebase Articles
Versi Bahasa Melayu
Kesemua 16 negeri dan wilayah persekutuan Malaysia menganjurkan sekurang-kurangnya satu acara esukan yang direkodkan pada 2026 — termasuk Kelantan, dengan tepat satu acara sahaja.
Selangor mendahului dengan 59 acara fizikal, diikuti Kuala Lumpur (48) dan Sarawak (29). Namun Lembah Klang hanya menyumbang 107 daripada 265 acara, iaitu 40% — bermakna majoriti esukan Malaysia berlaku di luar Lembah Klang, berbeza daripada tanggapan umum.
Jumlah acara dan jumlah wang ialah dua peta berbeza. Terengganu hanya menganjurkan 5 acara tetapi hadiah pertengahannya RM10,000 — lima kali ganda paras kebangsaan RM1,950. Sabah pula menganjurkan 12 acara dengan paras pertengahan RM600 sahaja. Banyak acara tidak bermakna banyak wang.
Citarasa permainan mengikut wilayah juga nyata: Sarawak ialah negeri PUBG Mobile (20 daripada 29 acara), Johor satu-satunya negeri di mana EA Sports FC mengatasi Mobile Legends, manakala Selangor ialah ibu kota permainan pertarungan. Ruang kosong terbesar ialah Kelantan — satu acara sahaja bagi negeri berpenduduk hampir dua juta orang.
