In collaboration with the IEF International Exchange Federation, ESDING has sent a total of 44 selected students known as the ESDING Elites from 9 renowned universities across countries in Southeast Asia such as Malaysia, Singapore, Thailand and Indonesia.

They participated in the recent IEF 2019 Hunan Malanshan International E-sports Festival in Changsa, Hunan, China, winning big in three different games: League Of Legends, FIFA Online 4 and Arena Of Valor.

ESDING is the main sponsor of the ESDING Elites, a platform for highly-talented grassroots e-sports players in the SEA region, looking into supporting them by promoting international exposures and cultural exchange for regional talents under its wing.

Here are the results:

• Elites League of Legends team from Bangkok University emerged as the champion after defeating Central South University of Forestry and Technology 2:1.
• Elites Arena Of Valor team from Xiamen University Malaysia finished at
  third place after winning 2:1 in the playoff against Bangkok University.
• Elites FIFA Online 4 player from Nanyang Polytechnic finished at third
  place after winning 2:1 in the playoff against Bangkok University.

Besides China, South Korea, Malaysia, Singapore, Thailand and Indonesia, other participating countries include the Philippines, Mongolia, Japan, Vietnam, Costa Rica and Poland.

Metis Wongchoosee, captain of Elites League of Legends team from Bangkok University expressed that international exposure in the professional esports scene is extremely helpful for students in gaining more confidence when considering esports as a career path.

He said:

“We think our victory will not be possible without the supports
from ESDING.

A lot of talented grassroots players are still undiscovered and not valued, but ESDING believes in us and that’s why we can make it.”

When asked about the negative perceptions associated with gaming, Wongchoosee
replied:

“We see this as a misunderstanding and lack of communication between the older and younger generation.

We do think gaming and e-sports have a lot of positive effects on
our growth as it teaches us many things such as dedication, problem solving, cooperation, and communication amongst others.

We think universities as a learning space should try to find the way to maximise e-sports potentials in students in various ways and by associating or opening up to organisation like ESDING should really help students and universities.”

Ling Kuang, captain of Elites Arena Of Valor team from Xiamen University Malaysia added:

“I think universities should support e-sports tournaments as it offers students a lot of benefits on top of winning prizes.

In China, there are a lot more tournament opportunities for
grassroots players and these tournaments are not only supported by the universities but also supported by the government.”

ESDING will also be participating in the upcoming World University Cyber Games in Sanya, China this December.