A decade of RoV advances with a player-centered approach, merging the power of gaming, esports, and T-Pop to create a landmark entertainment phenomenon at the 10th-anniversary festival 'Arena of the Decade'.'Arena of the Decade'.
Arena of Valor (RoV), also known as Garena RoV, a leading mobile MOBA game operated by Garena Online (Thailand), a global top-tier online game developer and service provider, reaffirms its position as Thailand's number one mobile MOBA. Marking a major milestone, it hosted the “Arena of the Decade: Battlefield of the Decade” offline festival celebrating 10 years, elevating its annual esports tournaments into a full-scale entertainment extravaganza. This event fused the universes of gaming, esports, and pop culture, gathering over 50,000 gamers, esports fans, and fandom members, with a peak live broadcast viewership of 221,490. The festival took place from 23 to 25 Oct 2023 GMT+7 at the IMPACT Exhibition Center in Muang Thong Thani, delivering player insights and tailored content while expanding its universe to new audiences.
Mr. Patcharapol Chat-anant, Assistant Operations Manager at Garena Online (Thailand) and producer of Arena of Valor (Thailand), stated, “Garena RoV prioritizes delivering in-game content and offline event experiences that truly resonate with our players. We consistently survey player opinions to understand their needs, then design activities, campaigns, and experiences that genuinely connect with them, as exemplified by the 'Arena of the Decade: Battlefield of the Decade.' Beyond being avid gamers, RoV players are interested in other entertainment forms, including music. We leveraged this insight to craft a festival seamlessly blending gaming and esports with the pop music industry. We featured 20 idols from eight prominent T-Pop groups stepping into esports athlete roles as 'pro players,' competing in a full tournament format. This cross-industry entertainment phenomenon engaged gamers, esports fans, and diverse fandoms, allowing people with varied interests to enjoy the event together. The professional competition and female athlete stage received overwhelming support, reflecting the strength and growing audience base of Thailand's esports community.”
‘RoV T-Pop Tournament 2026’ unites 20 top idols targeting the ‘fandom’ audience.
Following the huge success of last year’s special RoV T-Pop Showmatch between T-Pop groups BUS and PROXIE, this year Garena RoV elevated the showmatch into a full-fledged esports tournament, ‘RoV T-POP Tournament 2026.’ This grand event brought together 20 idols from eight leading Thai T-Pop groups: BUS, PROXIE, PERSES, ATLAS, DICE, VVV, DEXX, and 9214Kids. These 20 artists were divided into four teams, each representing one of the four realms in the RoV universe, competing alongside top RoV coaches. The tournament concluded with TEAM LOKHEIM, led by “Nice ATLAS,” winning the championship and the Finals MVP award, while runner-up honors went to TEAM NORMAN, led by “Henri PROXIE.”
“Offering T-Pop idols a stage to compete in a full tournament akin to professional esports athletes allows fans to see a new side of their favorite idols and support them through team formation with artists from other groups, training with renowned RoV creators as coaches, and competing to victory in the esports arena. This created a strong shared experience within fandoms and built anticipation on how far the idols would advance. For idols who are already gamers, it was a chance to fulfill childhood dreams by competing on a major esports stage. The introduction of this competitor mode revealed new charms of the idols never seen before, a key reason why the tournament received overwhelming enthusiasm from all fandoms,” Mr. Patcharapol added.
Historic 10th Anniversary Battles of ‘RoV Pro League’ and ‘Miss RoV’: Two Clubs Triumph in Title Defenses.
The main tournaments—RoV Pro League 2026 Winter and the all-female Miss RoV Tournament 2026 Season 2—offered not only season championship titles but also prize pools of 10,250,000 baht and 700,000 baht respectively. These events marked a historic milestone in Thai esports by crowning champions on RoV’s 10th anniversary, a significant landmark in the nation’s esports history. The trophies carried great honor and meaning, motivating all teams to aim high and deploy every strategy fiercely throughout the competitions.
In the RoV Pro League 2026 Winter finals, defending champions Buriram United Esports edged out Full Sense 4-2, securing their second consecutive championship and a prize of 6,000,000 baht. Meanwhile, in the all-female Miss RoV Tournament 2026 Season 2, eArena retained their title by defeating Hydra 4-2. These victories concluded the two major tournaments on the final day of the grand 10th anniversary celebration of Garena RoV’s Arena of the Decade in spectacular fashion.
Transforming the esports stage into a concert arena, featuring spectacular artist lineups.
Garena RoV further elevated entertainment by transforming the esports competition hall into a grand concert festival across all three days. They brought in top-tier artists from both T-Pop and K-Pop to create an unprecedented entertainment spectacle. Leading this was a collaboration with Hearts2Hearts, a South Korean girl group under SM Entertainment, in the special RoV X Hearts2Hearts “Next Chapter” project, merging the gaming world with K-pop music to offer fans a fresh entertainment experience celebrating RoV’s 10th anniversary.
This was followed by special performances from PROXIE and VVV, alongside PERSES appearing in looks inspired by RoV game heroes.
A highlight was the opening show for the Miss RoV Tournament 2026 by DREAMGALS, featuring Cherprang Areekul performing the tournament's official song “ECHO ECHO.” The RoV Pro League 2026 Winter opening featured JMNK (Jasmine-Nika) performing the official song “Timeless Legend,” conveying the prestige of the RoV Pro League tournament as a ‘Battlefield of the Decade’ standing the test of time.
Mr. Patcharapol explained the entertainment integration strategy: “Bringing world-class K-Pop artists and a strong T-Pop lineup to create this phenomenon was key to opening doors to new communities within RoV’s ecosystem. We transformed esports from a niche gamer-only space into a pop culture hub accessible to all. In an era flooded with entertainment content, differentiation isn’t just on-screen but breaking down barriers between ‘fandoms’ and ‘gamers.’ This is part of building a great and memorable experience for RoV’s community. Equally important is enhancing in-game features and content to satisfy both veteran and new players, allowing everyone to enjoy RoV in their own way.”
Responding to player demand, the popular ‘Abyssal Clash’ mode returns for renewed fun alongside a ‘RoV Abyssal All Stars’ creator showmatch.
For its 10th anniversary, Garena RoV revived the legendary game mode Abyssal Clash, allowing players to enjoy its fun once again. This followed overwhelming votes from players nationwide participating in an in-game survey. Abyssal Clash is a casual entertainment mode designed for quick matches lasting 10 to 15 minutes, fitting the lifestyle of modern gamers seeking fast, engaging gameplay in short sessions.
Garena RoV then elevated this mode’s fun to the esports stage with the special showmatch ‘RoV Abyssal All Stars,’ featuring leading content creators and influencers from across the country. They competed and entertained audiences at Arena of the Decade, embodying Abyssal Clash’s easy-to-play and inclusive spirit.
Partnering with leading brands to expand Gen Z reach and offering prizes totaling over 15 million baht.
Another success indicator of the Arena of the Decade event was the enthusiastic participation of diverse business partners and top-tier sponsors hosting booths and activities. These included realme as the Official Device Partner for esports competitions, ShopeePay, True5G, Pretz Nongpho, and AES Class Clinic. This reflected partners’ recognition of RoV’s potential and influence as a powerful medium reaching young audiences, especially Gen Z and Young Millennials, who are key target customers today. Meanwhile, attendees and gamers enjoyed various engaging activities and took home plentiful prizes from both partner booths and Garena RoV’s own activities, with a total prize budget of 15 million baht.
RoV’s next step: continuing to place ‘players’ at the center.
Mr. Patcharapol shared future directions: “Over the past decade, every player has been part of the growth and story-building of this community. The key to driving RoV forward in the next decade is to continuously listen to our players, which we have always prioritized. Community insights will guide the design of activities and experiences, including gameplay modes, in-game content, and the creation of innovative events and entertainment formats that go beyond before. This reinforces RoV as a hub of entertainment growing together with every player.”
Garena RoV launched in Thailand in 2016 and has since accumulated over 72 million downloads. The RoV Pro League is a national professional esports tournament for RoV, having held 18 seasons. Meanwhile, the all-female Miss RoV Tournament has completed two seasons.
For the latest updates on Garena RoV, visit https://www.rov.in.th/, the Garena RoV Thailand Facebook page, and the Garena RoV Tournament Facebook page.