Nope, your eyes aren’t deceiving you. Welcome to Singapore’s most lucrative amateur esports tournament. And the best part is – pros need not apply.
The Lion City is going big with community esports. Thirty-two local amateur Mobile Legends: Bang Bang (MLBB) teams will duke it out for an eye-watering US$9,680 (S$13,000) in cash and prizes later this year.
It is one of 2 national-level hybrid tournaments set to be staged annually as part of a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) between esports production house The Gym Esportscentre and NTUC Club, the leisure arm of the National Trades Union Congress (NTUC). The MOU was signed today.
But there is more to satiate the thirst of esports enthusiasts in Singapore. Apart from tournaments, up to 100 hybrid and virtual esports events such as masterclasses and workshops will be held for youths to be exposed to behind-the-scenes production and other career opportunities. These will be held across NTUC Club’s facilities across the island. Signups will be initially open to NTUC members, and then the wider community in the months ahead.
And who better to learn from, than the ones behind the Mobile Legends Professional League Singapore? That’s right, The Gym has been plugged into Singapore’s esports ecosystem since operations began in February 2020, and hopes to scale the industry here.
“Our mission at The Gym has always been to build a vibrant esports community from the ground up and help Singapore’s esports industry rise to new heights,” said Mr Neo Yong Aik, The Gym’s founder. “Through our events, we want to give the community a taste of what a professional set up is like.”
Singapore may still be playing catch up to regional juggernauts like Indonesia, Thailand, Vietnam and the Philippines, but there is hope that with this MOU, more Singaporeans can make the step up to compete shoulder-to-shoulder with their Southeast Asian peers.
