The tournament will see teams from nine other regional countries – China, India, Indonesia, South Korea, Mongolia, Singapore, Thailand, the Philippines and Vietnam – competing.
Winners will be selected to represent Malaysia in the WCG grand finals in Kunshan, China this November.
The national event at the Kuala Lumpur Convention Centre saw seasoned teams pitted against ad hoc teams, playing seven games including DOTA 2, FIFA 2012, Counter Strike Online and World of Tanks.
Among the teams was Orange eSports, which had participated in the Dota 2 tournament “The International 2” in Seattle earlier this week.
Cyber superheroes: Gamers fighting on the cyber battlefield during the World Cyber Games at the KL Convention Centre. Team member Chan Litt-Binn, 23, from Kepong, said the six-man team barely had any time to recover after flying back on Tuesday, and had not even practised for this competition.
He said gaming did not have a good reputation here despite it being a lucrative career in other countries like China and Korea.
“My parents are not happy about my passion. They are expecting me to get a job soon,” said Chan, a former national chess player.
His team won US$25,000 (RM77,700) in their last tournament. The grand prize was US$1mil (RM3.11mil).
Form Five student Kung Ter Chuen took part in his team event in Counter Strike GO, despite dislocating his left elbow the day before in a bicycle accident.
Arriving at KLCC with his arm in a bandage and sling, Kung did not even go for an X-ray first before joining his team, called `Unknown’ at the championship.
The WCG was held in conjunction with the Pikom Digital Lifestyle Expo 2012, and is part of the programme for the National ICT Month.
By SHAUN HO shaunh@thestar.com.my
