Yee Chun Leong
BANDAR SERI BEGAWAN
BRUNEI is looking to make their debut in eSports at the upcoming 31st SEA Games in Vietnam.
The Sultanate will be sending a total of 10 PUBG MOBILE players to contest in both the individual and team events.
The players are divided into two teams with each fielding four players and one reserve player.
The team started training in January in search of the team's chemistry at the association's training house and only moved into the intensive bootcamp this month.
National coach Md Fadzillah Kamis has high hopes for his charges.
“We believe that both our teams will give their best and hopefully able to secure a medal for the country,” said Md Fadzillah in a recent interview with BruSports News.
“This is the first time Brunei will take part in the esports event so hopefully they can show to all the SEA countries that we are here to win,” he added.
Thailand, Vietnam and Indonesia are the three powerhouses in PUBG Mobile in the region and have previously competed in the global championship.
“I have confidence in the team event since we finished third in the last two editions of the Razer Invitationals SEA in 2020 and 2022,” said Md Fadzillah.
“As for the individual event, there is a 50/50 chance for anyone because most of the players are more or less on par in terms of individual skills but they just need the luck of the ‘circle' in their favour,” added the coach.
The team also expressed their gratitude for the support from the Ministry of Culture, Youth & Sports and Esports Association of Brunei for this chance to participate in the upcoming SEA Games.
Players from Team 1 are a mixture of players from the Brunei National League.
They are spearheaded by captain Muhd Firdausi Asyura Hj Muntil while Md Syazwan Md Kamal, Muhd Wafiq Naqqiudin Md Zain, Muhd Mar’ie Wa’ie Mahadi and Muhd Hafiz Md Zain make up the rest of the field.
“We are still lacking in chemistry because we are from different teams but we will try to be professional by applying our individual skills and roles in the team,” said Muhd Firdausi.
“Our training now is getting intense as the day draws closer. We have our ups and downs and we will learn from our mistakes.
When asked on what he thinks about the rest of the field, Muhd Firdausi replied: “We are very familiar with the opposite teams from the PUBG Mobile Pro League (PMPL). We have been analyzing the teams dropspot, their checkpoints or rotations.
“For me, this is our advantage since we can view their gameplay from the league. Some of the teams played in the previous tournament SEA EC and Razer invitational and we still managed to beat them," he added.
Team 2 is made up of players from AutoTooSoon, who finished runners-up in the Brunei National League.
Ak Nabil Farhan Pg Hj Yunus will captain the side and is joined by his brother Ak Najwan Fathan, Muhd Amir Mukriz Hj Mokkim, Mohd Khairi Waiezahien Hj Mohamad Hairul Nizam and Abdul Qawiy Zaini.
“We’re honoured to be one of the teams selected to represent Brunei. We’re going to try our best in order to lift the country’s name and proudly wave the flag,” said Ak Nabil Farhan Pg Hj Yunus.
When asked on wins during scrimmages, Ak Nabil replied: “Team 1 has their own strong individual traits, especially their in-game leader, Bear.
“One who is a veteran in the industry that has quite the amount of knowledge in the game which balances their chemistry well making it consistent,” he added.
“As for us, our strongpoint as a team is that we are able to maintain the full number of players in the team towards the end of the zone that is bound to rake in a high number of points.
“During our training sessions is where we try to keep our composure and not lose trust in our teammates,” he concluded
