PUCHONG – The new electronic sports (Esports) hub, ESI Hub @ Spacerubix in Puchong is expected to be the training centre for the national Esports squad ahead of the 2022 Asian Games to be held in Hangzhou, China from September 10 until September 25.
ESports Integrated (ESI) chief executive officer, Ahmed Faris Amir said he was now discussing with the National Sports Council (MSN) to enable the national team to set up “camp” at ESI Hub to undergo training in preparation for the games in China.
“According to our plans, the Asian Games squad will train here. Unfortunately, the Hanoi SEA Games squad will most probably not train here at the hub since it has just been launched.
“In terms of readiness, we are ready (as the SEA Games training centre), we have yet to discuss issues like coordination, placements and so on.
“And because of that, most probably they will continue training at MSN,” he said to reporters here today.
He said this after the launch of the ESI Hub by the Youth and Sports Ministry deputy secretary-general (Strategy) Ramona Mohd Razali. Also present was MSN director-general Datuk Ahmad Shapawi Ismail.
A total of eight Esports games will make their debut as sports that offer medals at the Hangzhou Asian Games including Arena of Valor (Asian Games Asia version), Dota 2, Dream Three Kingdoms 2 and FIFA (by EA Sports).
At the 2018 Jakarta-Palembang Asian Games six games were played namely Arena of Valor, Clash Royale, Hearthstone, League of Legends, Pro Evolution Soccer and StarCraft II.
They were held as a demonstration sport in which medals won are not officially counted or included in the medal tally chart.
Meanwhile, Ahmed Faris said he was holding further discussions with MSN and the Malaysia Electronic Sports Federation (MESF) for any future cooperation including making the hub the first choice for the country’s Esports camps to train before participating in any championship.
He also said the Malaysia eSports League will be the first event to be played at the ESI Hub in either June or July.
He said they also plan to organise the ESI masterclass, especially in the development of “casters” (newscasters) in the near future.
ESI Hub is equipped with 13 gaming rooms and a championship hall that can accommodate up to 200 people at any one time. – Bernama, April 22, 2022
