S’wak AVL confident of top three finish in virtual league
KUCHING: Sarawak AVL are looking forward to finish among the top three teams in the ongoing Axis National Virtual League esports tournament.
The Sarawak AVL team comprising 25 gamers is led by team manager Syazwan Heikle.
The online tournament organised by Axis Esports in collaboration with the Malaysia Esports Federation has a racted 14 teams (states).
Axis National Virtual League, that commenced on April 28, will be played in FIFA 21 Pro Clubs where a player will only play one position on the field.
“We are currently placed sixth in the table standings a er collecting 32 points a er 10 weeks of competition.
“There are six more matches to go and I am confident we can further improve our position to become one of the best teams in the tournament,” said Syazwan yesterday.
The league leaders are Selangor AVL with 46 points, followed by Penang AVL (37), Negeri Sembilan AVL (36), Terengganu AVL (36) and Perak AVL (36).
According to Syazwan, among the interesting things about Sarawak AVL is that there are three players aged 18 and below working together with much older teammates, the majority of whom are aged 23 and above.
“Our main challenge in this tournament is the problem of unstable internet lines because Sarawak’s geography is far from Peninsular Malaysia causing high pings and delays.
“Furthermore, some of our players were infected with Covid-19 causing them to be quarantined at the quarantine centre and unable to play,” he said.
This caused Sarawak AVL’s performance to plummet for several weeks due to loss of momentum and the restructuring of the team to find a new rhythm.
However, a er a few weeks, Sarawak AVL managed to find their rhythm again and came back to collect points from every match.
The first edition of the tournament offers a total prize money of RM5,000 and the coveted Axis Super Cup.
It is aimed at unearthing new talents and selecting the best players to represent the country and as backup players for he national squad.