The state government plans to build an e-sports centre to develop and popularise e-sports in Perak.
Executive Councillor for Youth, Sports and Human Development, Howard Lee Chuan How said the state government along with the State Economic Development Corporation (SEDC) is in the process of identifying a strategic location for the sports centre.
“Planning and discussions are ongoing to build the sports centre,” said Howard during a press conference following the launch of the E-sports Professional Industry Conference on Saturday, March 2 at Casuarina@Meru Hotel, Ipoh.
The 2-day event was divided into three segments namely, conference, exhibition and an e-sports competition. Some 500 participants from all over the country took part.
The breakdown of teams that took part in the e-sports was as follow: 16 teams competed in DOTA 2, 40 teams in PUBG (online games played via smart phones), 32 teams in Mobile Legends and 64 individuals vied in the famous Playstation game, FIFA 19.
Howard assured that the state government would organise the event annually and hoped the federal government would provide the assistance needed.
A professional DOTA 2 player, Yeik Nai Zheng, 22, popularly known as MidOne from Bagan Serai, was picked to be Perak’s e-sports ambassador. Nai Zheng expressed his gratitude to the state government for acknowledging his talent.
For the record, Nai Zheng and his team won an international-level DOTA 2 competition held in Seattle, USA in 2016. They received cash prize worth USD1.4 million (RM5.6 million) for their effort.
Luqman Hakim
