The SRG athletes after winning the Mid-Season Cup Mobile Legends: Bang Bang 2024 in Riyadh.
SELANGOR Red Giants’ (SRG) e-sports team’s victory at an inaugural world cup tournament held in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia in July has prompted the need to develop the gaming sector further in the state and at national level.
The team created history by winning the Mobile Legends: Bang Bang (MLBB) Mid Season Cup 2024 after a seven-year e-sports drought in the country.
Even Prime Minister Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim congratulated the team through a post on Facebook.
The team took home a trophy and cash prize of US$1mil (RM4.4mil).
SRG is an e-sports division of Selangor’s football club and falls under the state’s football association.
From Nov 21 to Dec 15, Malaysia will host MLBB’s M6 World Championship, the largest tournament for MLBB at the Axiata Arena in Bukit Jalil, Kuala Lumpur.
Organisers from ESS monitoring the Selangor Youth Festival 2024 gaming matches at their studio in Shah Alam.
According to Statista, a provider of market and consumer data, the e-sports market worldwide is projected to reach US$4.3bil (RM18.9bil) in revenue this year.
StarMetro spoke to Selangor youth, sports and entrepreneurship committee chairman Najwan Halimi and several key e-sports agencies to unravel the development plans put into place to improve the sector after this success.
E-sports developments
Scouting for talents was the main aim for Selangor government with the introduction of its targeted programmes for grassroots communities, said Najwan.
Najwan: Scouting for future e-sports athletes is the main target for the state government.“From our local tournaments, we will cherry-pick the cream of the crop.
“Once we have the talents, we will groom and train them and have them participate in local competitions and large-scale tournaments,” he said.
He added that the structural programme was in its initial plan, and a launch would be held in two to three months.
Najwan also said there was a recent discussion with SRG manager Simon Mason Lim to scout for players from state competitions or tournaments through the structural programme.
When contacted, Lim said the structural programme was designed to offer a clear pathway for talent identification and development, integrating training, mentorship and competition opportunities.
Local tournaments, he said, were set to increase at least one additional competition for each quarter.
Through SRG, the team has also commenced scouting through its technical team that has been actively monitoring local and amateur tournaments to identify talents.
Lim said the plans involved expanding training facilities, increasing the number of local tournaments and boosting talent scouting efforts to develop young players.
“We are also discussing potential collaborations with educational institutions to support player development and create pathways to professional careers in e-sports.”
For the team, SRG aims to grow its roster, improve its training programmes and seek international partnerships to enhance their exposure and competitiveness.
Lim added that although SRG was currently focused exclusively on MLBB, there were plans to diversify and add one or two more games in the near future.
In line with this plan, Najwan said the state was also monitoring developments for other games such as FIFA, PlayerUnknown’s Battleground Mobile (PUBGM) and Defense of the Ancients (Dota).
Dota, he said, has been gaining traction once again in the state with players keen to participate in future events.
For Esports Association Selangor (ESS) president Abdul Razak Mohd Yusof, organising events such as the Selangor XTIV Virtual Esports 2021 led to the growth of e-sports in the state.
The prize pool of the whole programme reached RM250,000 and was held from May to December 2020 with five games, namely MLBB, Pro Evolution Soccer (PES), FIFA 20, PUBGM and Call of Duty Mobile, he said.
Abdul Razak said it was open to Malaysians and had 200,000 participants nationwide, while social media engagements reached 10 million users at the time.
He suggested that Selangor government seek cooperation from ESS, as the events held in 2020 were closely monitored and organised by them, which could help in scouting talents.
He added that district e-sports associations could also provide help in this area.
Players at a grassroots gaming event.
Promotion via education
Najwan said the state had yet to establish a body or organisation to accredit players as coaches.
“Selangor still needs a solid team and there should be continuity,” he said.
“We want to push the SRG brand forward.
“We will ensure the athletes do not leave this field immediately.
“One of our challenges is we do not have a local coach with potential yet and our current coach is not a Malaysian.
“Other sports are already established and have certified agencies or bodies to accredit coaches, but such a system does not exist yet within the e-sports ecosystem.”
Selangor, he said, planned to formulate a body or platform for gamers and former gamers who want to enhance their talents as coaches.
Supporting Najwan’s idea, Lim, who is also SRG’s coach, said establishing a recognised accreditation body could enhance the professionalism of coaching in e-sports, ensuring that coaches had the necessary skills to effectively nurture talent.
A screenshot taken during the MLBB Mid Season Cup at the eSports World Cup in Riyadh.
“I am advocating for MLBB tournaments targeted at schools to stimulate early interest and skill development for the youth, which is essential for cultivating a sustainable e-sports culture,” he added.
However, Abdul Razak said a current programme existed under the Technical and Vocational Education and Training (TVET) and was level 3 of the Malaysian Skills Certificate (SKM).
He proposed this idea in 2020 when he was ESS deputy chairman as the association prepared for Sukan Malaysia (Sukma).
Abdul Razak said education was his passion and he wanted to assist those talented in the gaming industry to push ahead.
Under the current programme, four people have accreditation under SKM through the Skills and Development Department (DSD) and eight are currently undertaking the course through Akademi Seni Budaya dan Warisan Kebangsaan (Aswara).
Abdul Razak hopes the programme can be developed to level 4 and 5.
“The level 3 SKM will give accreditation and allow students with a minimum of one credit for SPM to enter universities in pursuit of a diploma,” he said.
