The SEA games got a little more electronic this year.
Especially with the introduction of electronic sports (esports) into the mix.
There were many sceptics at first.
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However, I feel that esports has earned its place in the world of professional competition and will only continue to thrive.
Those with success stories in these competitions should also be recognised.
Today, we bring you one of those success stories.
Professor And Pro-Gamer
Now, who said you couldn’t be both?
According to Mothership, Yew Weng Kean, or by his Gamertag Wkyew90, became one of the first esports gold medalists at the SEA Games.
Mind you; this guy is an assistant professor at Heriot-Watt University.
All those primary school rumours that teachers don’t play games are now put to rest.
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Yes, this Instagram post also came as direct congratulations from Mr Syed Saddiq, the current Minister of Youth and Sports who looks like a boy from a boy band.
If that isn’t high praise then I don’t know how high your expectations are.
The game of his choice was Hearthstone, an online digital card game with around 100 million active players as of last year.
His journey to the top, however, was not easy.
From Lower To Winner
Yew’s SEA games run did not start well.
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After making past the Group A qualifying round, the 29-year-old was knocked into the lower bracket by Singaporean Chew Khai Kiat.
Much like a video game, you have ‘lives’ in a tournament as well.
You start in the upper bracket and when upon losing, you get dropped into the lower bracket where one more loss means elimination.
But Yew did not give up and ran it through the entirety of the lower bracket.
He even beat Chew in the rematch!
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In the grand finals, he faced off against his Thai opponent Werit Popan who was tearing through the entire upper bracket?
The results? You already know how this story ends.
After several nail-biting sets, Yew came out victorious over Popan 3-1.
Yew is now officially the first Malaysian to win an esports gold medal at the 2019 SEA Games on 9 December.
While he remains elated over his win, Yew has something to say about the impact of esports.
“Esports is a trend now and will stay regardless of what we do. Parents should look at it from a positive side because gaming can actually improve your thinking, critical and strategic skills.”
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However, he also states that you should find a healthy balance and that you should balance gaming and studies too.
And he’s clearly shown that it works!
Once again, huge congratulations to Yew and hope that he will find more success in the future as well!
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