GAMERS BATTLE IT OUT AT QUILL CITY
10 countries compete in WESG SEA regional finals
IT was battle stations at the Quill City Mall, Kuala Lumpur, last weekend as more than 245 gamers from 10 countries competed in the World Electronic Sports Games Southeast Asia (WESG SEA) Regional Finals.
As a precursor to the event, 22 Malaysians were picked over a threemonth period of qualifying rounds to earn the right to represent the country.
Organising the WESG SEA Regional Finals was Agri Mind, which secured the franchisee rights from Alisports of the Alibaba Group.
Though the WESG was inaugurated in 2016 by Alisports to spearhead the development of electronic sports (e-sports) on a global scale, representatives were only picked from the Asia Pacific region before Agri Mind entered the picture last year to narrow the field to an Asean-level competition by organising the SEA Regional Finals last year.
(The 10 countries taking part these two years were member countries of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations, namely Malaysia, Singapore, Vietnam, Cambodia, Laos, Thailand, Myanmar, Brunei, the Philippines and Indonesia.)
More than 10 Malaysian gamers were among the 700 global finalists who competed for US$5.5 million (about RM23 million) international finals in Chongqing, China, last year.
Four e-sports gaming categories were contested last weekend: DOTA2 (Defenders of the Ancients), Counter Strike: Global Offensive (CS: GO) – Open, CS GO –Women and Starcraft 2.
Except for Starcraft 2, which was played on an individual format, the other three categories saw five-member teams taking on one another on a best-of-three round robin format.
JL Tan, vice chairman of Agri Mind, said the winners of the four categories in the WESG SEA Regional Finals would receive cash prizes between US$4,500 (RM18,000) and US$7,500 (RM31,000), and also earn the right to take part in the Asia Pacific finals in January next year and the International Grand Finals next March.
He added that the WESG SEA Finals were part of Agri Mind’s vision of creating a regional e-sports hub in the Klang Valley.
“We are uncovering and building up talent for the next e-sports-themed mall in Klang,” said Tan, adding that he is optimistic that the mall, which is currently undergoing refurbishments, will be ready next year.
Agri Mind is working closely with AirAsia, which was one of the sponsors of the WESG SEA Regional Finals, towards achieving its goal of a strong and impactful e-sports community in line with the Sports Ministry’s initiative.
The WESG SEA Regional Finals are endorsed by the Sports Ministry and Bulan Sukan Negara or “National Sports Month”.
And as Allan Phang, president of the AirAsia All-Stars E-Sports Club indicated, the low-cost carrier is fully on board when it comes to getting the most out of esports.
Tan said e-sports is a paradigm shift from the traditional, physical sports even though both share similar characteristics in that the players have to maintain certain ethics, possess fast reflexes, have good stamina, practise teamwork, create winning strategies and communicate regularly with one another.
The official opening ceremony of the WESG SEA Regional Finals was notable in that it featured a theme song, Awake, rendered by Malaysian artiste, Tilla Hanna.
“The theme song was a collaborative effort among the top regional creative talents. The WESG SEA Regional Finals gave them a platform to showcase their talents in the digital field. The tournament is about bringing together many things, such as audiences, arts and talents, and not just gamers,” said Tan.
He added that the tournament was about “creating an entire functional, sustainable e-sports eco-system”.
E-sports will be making their debut at the 30th Sea Games in the Philippines next month. DOTA2 and Starcraft 2 are among the six gaming categories being contested, in addition to mobile and console games.
Also present at the interview was Adib Khalid, president of Agri Mind.