Yoodo to announce it’s very own official e-sports team as well as a gaming competition that will showcase and reward Malaysia’s best PUBG MOBILE gamers. NORAFIFI EHSAN / The Star
A Malaysian PlayerUnknown’s Battlegrounds (PUBG) team is concerned over the call to ban the game after it was linked to the mass shooting incident in Christchurch, New Zealand.
Aiman Amirul Mohd Sahid, the captain for team Yoodo Gank, said he is worried as he depends on the game for income. The 22-year-old is a full-time professional streamer and gamer based in Perak.
“The game is my livelihood. I’ve been gaming since I was a teenager and I didn’t get the chance to compete professionally then. Now that I have the chance to compete and make a living as a professional gamer, I’m worried that it may be banned,” Aiman said during an interview in Petaling Jaya, Selangor today.
Negri Sembilan mufti Datuk Mohd Yusof Ahmad has urged the government to consider banning the game after the tragedy in Christchurch, which has claimed 50 lives so far. He claims the game may have a negative impact on young minds.
Aiman’s teammate, Abdul Azim Ikromi Abdul Rashid, 20, said gaming on PUBG doesn’t lead to violent behaviour.
“A game is just a game. I think the Youth and Sports Minister Syed Saddiq has already said that violent acts have been committed even before there was any form of gaming. If someone already has the intention to commit violence, they don’t need a game as an excuse,” he shared.
Aiman also explained that games like PUBG help to foster a sense of camaraderie among friends. He also said PUBG emphasises on players communicating with each other to come up with winning strategies instead of wandering around shooting aimlessly.
“As some of us have full-time jobs, we allocate time to play and train together at least three times a week. Within the community, if we notice that one of us is spending too much time on the game, we’ll advise that person to stop playing and spend more time with his or her family. We look out for each other,” Aiman said.
He added: “Gaming can be a source of income especially when someone actively trains and takes part in competitions. Some of us do feel that our lives have been improved thanks to PUBG.”
The other members of Yoodo Gank are Muhammad Hazim Abd Hamid, a 25-year-old from Kedah and Mohammad Hafizi Baharuddin, a 23-year-old from Selangor. In January, they beat 15 other teams to emerge as winners of the PUBG Mobile National Championship event in Kuala Lumpur. The team received RM20,000 in cash prize.
As a result of their win, Yoodo, a fully digital mobile service, announced that the company will be sponsoring the team. Head of Yoodo Chow Tuck Mun said the company is committed towards helping the team develop its skills and elevate Malaysia’s standing in terms of competitive PUBG gaming.
Aiman said the team is thankful to get the one-year sponsorship deal: “It definitely helps us to stay motivated and take our careers as professional gamers seriously. Now we’re not just playing and training for fun.”
Yoodo is also giving gamers a chance to win RM600 and RM50 Yoodo credit if they can beat Yoodo Gank in a monthly competition called Beat The Champs which starts on March 28.
If nobody manages to beat Yoodo Gank, the prize money will snowball for a bigger pay-out for the next tournament. Players need to register on the company’s Facebook page to enter the competition.
“This is our way of training the team. It’s also our way of developing the PUBG scene and competitive spirit in Malaysia,” Chow said.
In an earlier report, Syed Saddiq refuted claims that online multiplayer games such as PUBG is responsible to the Christchurch incident.
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