PETALING JAYA: Tabah NSEA and Geek Fam will represent Malaysia for the PUBG Mobile eSports medal event at the upcoming SEA Games in Hanoi.
Both emerged as the top two teams in the closed national qualifier event organised by the The Malaysia Electronic Sports Federation (MESF), besting 14 other teams.
In first place with 167 points is Tabah NSEA, which is a team under the Negeri Sembilan eSports Association. Its members are Mohamad Amizul Hafiz Mohd Fadzli (NSEAFranky), Muhammad Irfan Jafni Mohamad (NSEAMagix), Muhammad Farish Husaini Zailani (NSEAFlax0P), Muhammad Faiz Aiman Baharuddin Abdullah (NSEAXRushNN1) and Muhammad Aduka Ikmal Azmi (NSEAAduka).
Geek Fam came in at second place with 156 points. Its members are Mohd Irzam Aman Mohd Zaini (GEEKDamRUDE), Ahmad Syafiq Imran Mohamad (GEEKQb), Mohamad Nabil Nazaruddin (GEEKSnipesMVP), Muhammad Dhiya Ulhaq (BTRXuHighboyOP) and Nadzrul Abdul Sagal (GEEKSONiX7Days).
PUBG Mobile director Oliver Ye congratulated both teams in a statement: “They have shown superb gameplay and teamwork, and are deserving of the title ‘national athletes’.”
The national eSports selection, which began on Feb 18, concluded on March 7. Apart from Tabah NSEA and Geek Fam, MESF announced that teams Secret Xpert and Sorry Roar will represent Malaysia for the Free Fire event.
It also announced Todak for Mobile Legends: Bang Bang, ADT Esports for Arena Of Valor and SEM9 for both League Of Legends and League Of Legends: Wild Rift.
For Fifa Online 4, MESF has shortlisted four players and submitted the names to the Football Association of Malaysia (FAM). In a Bernama report, national eSports manager Kelvin Pang said the decision on player selection to represent Malaysia for the game is up to FAM as it falls under their purview.
Last month, MESF announced that all selected athletes are expected to undergo a two-month bootcamp starting March 14 at Casa Bukit Jalil and the EBN Esports Arena at Quill City Mall in Kuala Lumpur.
The SEA Games in Hanoi, Vietnam will be held on May 12 to 23, 2022.