Malaysia’s esports teams shooting for gold

20 Apr 2022

To ensure Malaysia’s esports team has its best shot at the upcoming SEA Games in Hanoi, athletes were chosen after they proved themselves on the virtual battlefield.

Kelvin Pang Ching Kuen, the team manager of the Malaysian esports contingent, said he decided to move the process away from a player draft to a national qualifier format.

“At the previous SEA Games, we would pick and choose the best players from various teams and hope they gel. However, I felt that brought up the issue of chemistry, and thought it better to use an elimination format to show which teams have merit,” he said, in an interview with LifestyleTech.

He added that the previous draft methods also caused complaints about the lineup, from coaches asking why their players weren’t chosen to fans complaining on online forums.

By having the players prove their prowess, it left no room for questions on whether the chosen teams are the best of the best.

“My answer is simple, I need to win the most medals and for that we need the best teams,” he said.

The national esports contingent selection was done through a closed national qualifier organised by the Malaysia Electronic Sports Federation (MESF), which ran from Feb 18 to March 7.