National e-sports governing body, eSports Malaysia, has announced what it claims to be the biggest e-sports event in Southeast Asia. This is probably due to the fact that the tournament, AGES 16 (ASEAN Games For e-sports), will have a total prize pool of RM1 million. The tournament is due to start on the 18th of March, which will be taking place here in Kuala Lumpur.
According to eSports Malaysia, it will also be collaborating with several other government bodies such as the Ministry of Youth & Sports, MCMC and surprisingly, even the Ministry of Higher Education. In total, there will be seven countries participating, namely Singapore, Indonesia, Thailand, Vietnam, Cambodia, Philippines and of course, Malaysia.
The purpose of the tournament is to find representatives from each country to compete in the grand finals of AGES 16. The games that are going to be played in the tournament include Dota 2, Counter Strike: Global Offensive and FIFA 16. According to eSports Malaysia, registration for the tournament will be opened 10 days after Chinese New Year.
The e-sports scene in Malaysia has really taken off with recent big tournaments such as the Malaysia Cyber Games, which witnessed the formation of Malaysia’s Dota 2 representative, Team Taring. With support from organisations like eSports Malaysia as well as the Ministry of Youth and Sports, the e-sports scene in Malaysia seems to be heading in the right direction.
(Source: eSports Malaysia)
