Around 30,000 students from 256 schools will compete in ‘Mobile Legends: Bang Bang’ game developed by Moonton

by AZALEA AZUAR / pic source: moonton.com

PRIMARY and secondary school students in Kedah, Perak, Putrajaya and Johor will stand a chance to win attractive prizes through an eSports tournament, “Generasi e-Sukan Sekolah 2021” (GES2021), which will be held between March 5 and August this year.

Organised by GenbijakEsports in collaboration with education departments of the said states, the event is supported by the Malaysian eSports Federation (MESF) and the Youth and Sports Ministry and sponsored by Realme Malaysia.

Around 30,000 students from 256 schools will compete in a game of “Mobile Legends: Bang Bang”, developed by Moonton.

Themed “Gaming in Education”, registration for GES2021 is currently open until Feb 28.

The tournament will start with a video from experts on “healthy gaming” to cultivate a safe gaming environment, while Moonton Malaysia marketing manager Arif Shahir will give a talk on careers in eSports.

Cash prizes and Realme products await winners. For the state level, the cash prize is RM2,000, while for the national level, winners will take home RM3,000.

Arif said specifically for this tournament, the players will receive “diamonds”, which are Mobile Legends’ in-game currency.

“Players can use diamonds to buy additional contents in the game. Beginning from District Level, we will put players in the ‘Tournament Mode’ where they can select any characters they want,” said Arif.

He also assured that players need not worry about purchasing the content since all the characters and their clothes (or in gaming terms, skins) have been made available to them.

“They do not need to spend a single cent and this event is free to join. There is a difference between normal tournaments and tournaments that have been endorsed by Moonton.

“In normal tournaments, players are required to use their own account and use characters that they have already purchased, but for Moonton-endorsed tournaments, they would have full access to the contents,” he explained.

Kedah Education Department assistant director of student affairs Norulrozi Azeri said to participate in GES2021, students must have permission from their parents. “The registration form must be signed by their parents and they need a teacher or parent to be a team manager.

“There will be six members in a team where one is a reserved player. The secretariat will verify that they are all from the same school or from the four states,” said Norulrozi.

GenbijakEsports president Syahrizal Badrulzaman said through GES2021, the country can detect young talents who can potentially be a part of the national team.

“Right now, students are more exposed to technology, social media and mobile games. Hence, we take this opportunity to introduce eSports as one of their school activities that they can enjoy,” Syahrizal said.

GenbijkEsport also received positive feedback from teachers last year with a similar programme for schools in Selangor.

“Although classes were remote, students submitted their assignments which were the condition for entering the tournament,” he added.

MESF chairman Datuk Ananth S Nathan said the federation, with the Asian eSports Federation (AESF), have been discussing similar initiatives to bring students to the international arena.

He noted that parents used to be sceptical about eSports, but with schools now being involved and with evidence of the potential of eSports, he believes that the negative perception will die out.

“From there, we will be able to develop young talents and encourage them to bring themselves and the country to the world stage,” said Ananth.

Realme Malaysia community manager Nor Farhana Mustapha believed that this tournament is a good way for them to give back to the community.

For more information about GES2021, visit www.genbijak.my or contact 018-2094517 (Hafiz) or 012- 2356010 (Julia).