Singapore, Singapore – Singtel and the Singapore Esports Association (SGEA) have jointly launched an award to recognise talent and promote excellence in esports. The ‘PVP Esports Award’ will be presented to up to two exceptional Team Singapore athletes competing at the 30th Southeast Asian Games (SEA Games) in the Philippines, where esports will be an official medal event for the first time in SEA Games history. Singtel is a sponsor of Singapore’s SEA Games esports team.

The ‘PVP Esports Award’ for SEA Games athletes, each worth S$10,000, comprises cash as well as funds to support their professional development and learning, and athletic training. The athletes will be selected based on the following criteria: excellence in performance, commitment to the craft, and sportsmanship. They will be chosen by representatives from Singtel and SGEA and announced later this month after the closing of the SEA Games.

Mr Arthur Lang, CEO of Singtel’s International Group, said “We are pleased that our sponsorship of the Singapore team has enabled the athletes to focus on what they do best and having a shot at winning medals for Singapore. This award recognises their skills and contributions, and represents our commitment to support and celebrate their efforts. We believe they will be excellent ambassadors for the sport, and an inspiration to others. With the growing popularity of competitive gaming in the region, we are passionate about developing the gaming ecosystem for professionals and amateurs alike through our PVP Esports platform.”

Created in 2018, PVP Esports is ASEAN’s first multi-game, multi-country esports platform. It debuted with a professional Championship and in 2019, introduced amateur esports leagues for gaming enthusiasts, launching the PVP Corporate League for working professionals across the region and the PVP Inter-Campus League for tertiary students in Singapore.

Mr Ng Chong Geng, President, Singapore Esports Association, said, “SGEA is proud to partner up with Singtel in supporting local esports athletes as well as the gaming ecosystem. We believe that Singtel’s infrastructure and our industry veterans will enable us to further develop the esports scene in Singapore.”

Singapore will field 20 athletes for the six esports games that will be contested as medal sports, namely Arena of Valor, Dota 2, Hearthstone, Mobile Legends: Bang Bang, Starcraft II and Tekken 7. They will be competing against athletes from Indonesia, Malaysia, Philippines and Thailand.

The joint award from Singtel and SGEA is part of an ongoing partnership between Singtel and SGEA to groom and develop Singapore’s first official cyber athletes. Both parties inked a
memorandum of understanding in March this year to provide support for Singapore’s SEA Games esports team, including funding for training, competitions and player stipends.

Esports: Road to SEA Games Content Series

In the lead up to the SEA Games, Singtel and Razer, the official esports partner of the SEA Games, collaborated with MTV Asia to produce a mini-documentary series – “Esports: Road to SEA Games”. The four-part series documents the journey of regional esports players to the Games, shining a spotlight on the athletes and their craft. It features training sessions including Razer SEA Games Esports Bootcamp with global esports celebrity teams and players like Evil Geniuses (Dota 2) and Kim “JDCR” Hyunjin (Tekken 7), the athletes’ aspirations of gaming glory, and insights from experts on what to expect at the Games.

The digital series will launch progressively on social media from 2 – 4 December 2019, and subsequently on the MTV Asia channel. The full documentary, including a finale episode featuring the competition at the SEA Games, will be released in 2020. The series can be viewed online at www.facebook.com/pvpesportsgg.

Annex

Singapore esports athletes competing at the 2019 SEA Games

Mobile Legends: Bang Bang

  1. Akihiro “JPL” Furusawa
  2. Andrew “Potato” Lim
  3. Boon “OhDeerBambi” Wei Xing Robert
  4. Chong “Soul” Ru Chyi
  5. Tan “Ace” Zheng Wei

Arena of Valor
Resurgence:

  1. Bjorn “Zeys” Ong
  2. Dabbie “813” Lim Chin Hong
  3. Ng “Elespresso” Ye Lun Renfred
  4. Ong “Yueyah” Jing Song
  5. Lee “Marclaren” Cheng Hiang Marcus

Dota 2
Team X:

  1. Wong “NutZ” Jeng Yih
  2. Lukman “Luk” Yusoff Bin Nooraznan
  3. Teo “Tudi” Yao Wen
  4. Wilson “Poloson” Koh Chin Wei
  5. Joel “Chibix” Chan Jian Yong

StarCraft II

  1. Toh “Lobo” Wei Liang Alvin
  2. Thomas “Blysk” Kopankiewicz

TEKKEN 7

  1. Ruslan “LAN94” Bin Abd Rahman

Hearthstone

  1. Chew “Khaius” Khai Kiat
  2. Benjamin “SGAhIce” Isa Roberts

About Singtel

Singtel is Asia’s leading communications technology group, providing a portfolio of services from next-generation communication, technology services to infotainment to both consumers and businesses. For consumers, Singtel delivers a complete and integrated suite of services, including mobile, broadband and TV. For businesses, Singtel offers a complementary array of workforce mobility solutions, data hosting, cloud, network infrastructure, analytics and cyber-security capabilities. The Group has presence in Asia, Australia and Africa and reaches more than 700 million mobile customers in 21 countries. Its infrastructure and technology services for businesses span 21 countries, with more than 428 direct points of presence in 362 cities.
For more information, visit www.singtel.com.
Follow us on Twitter at www.twitter.com/SingtelNews.

About Singapore Esports Association

The Singapore Esports Association (SGEA) is the national governing body for esports in Singapore. It was founded in 2018 to promote and facilitate the participation of Singapore in regional and international events and competitions in the area of esports excellence and to develop and promote esports as a sport.
For more information, follow us on our social media:
Facebook: facebook.com/SGEsportsAssociation
Instagram: instagram.com/SGEsportsAssociation