3,000 expected to join first Sabah e-sports tournament
Kota Kinabalu: Youths can go a long way in the electronic sports or e-Sports industry which has grown by leaps and bounds over the years.
Chief Political Secretary to the Chief Minister, Datuk Nizam Abu Bakar Titingan, believes it can also change their minds if put to good use.
“The State Government has and will continue to support and prioritise youth development programmes which can particularly enhance the talents of our youths,” he said at the Borneo e-Arena media conference, here, Thursday.
“Some may say that e-sports is not good for our children’s mind, especially those still schooling, but if we look at it from another angle, e-sports is one of the closest and easiest medium for youths to get involved in,” he said.
“They have a variety of options to engage their talents in, whether through computer games, game consoles or though mobile games.
“I believe e-sports can actually change the minds of youths if used as a right platform.
It can be used not only to pass time but even get acquainted with new friends, share ideas and strategies.
They can even generate lucrative income through various existing channels,” he said.
He said gamers should not be left out and instead should be educated on how to develop their minds and be given more exposure to the outside world.
“The event organiser, through the Borneo E-Arena, not only offers that exposure to our youths, but also motivates them to venture into cyberspace,” he said.
The Borneo e-Arena, organised by PNM Ideas Sdn Bhd and supported by the State Government, Malaysian Communications and Multimedia Commission and Sabah Tourism, is the biggest and first e-sport tournament to be held in Sabah. The tournament will feature most played games in the world such as Mobile Legend, Dota 2, Fifa 17, Overwatch and more, with the finals scheduled to be held at Centre Point Shopping Complex from Sept 16 to Sept 17.
A total of 3,000 gamers from across the country as well as from other Southeast Asian countries are expected to take part in the tournament which will begin its online elimination matches on July 27.
The tournament offers a RM100,000 prize pool, to be won with a RM20,0000 first prize for the Mobile Legend champion, which is also open to Southeast Asian gamers.
Dota 2, Fifa 17 and Overwatch which are only open to Malaysian gamers offer RM7,000, RM7,000 and RM3,000 respectively as top prize. Pocket games will also be opened for visitors with RM500 going to the top scorer.
Those who wish to know more and to register can visit them at www.borneoearena.com. – Sherell Ann Jeffrey
Source: Daily Express
