Newly-formed Team of Players Win ECHAMP 2021

December 13 2021: After a grilling eight-hour closed-door battle yesterday, The Highest Entity (THE) team of amateur egamers took home the grand prize of $5,390 at the ECHAMP 2021 Grand Finals at Downtown East.

The team of five beat a total of 63 other Mobile Legends: Bang Bang (MLBB) teams in the competition, which started in November. This is Singapore’s most lucrative MLBB esports championship with a total prize purse of vouchers and prizes worth more than $14,500. Yesterday, Team JCG Alpha took the second place while Team NVA took the third place. The amateur players are aged between 16 and 22. For Team THE, the tournament brought the five players together who became teammates just two months ago. It was the first time they met yesterday.

"We trained very hard for this competition in the last two months," said Team THE member Ryan Chia, 20. "Despite not having met previously, we did quite well for a newly-formed team."

Bringing People Together

And that's exactly what the egames tournaments aim to do. ECHAMP 2021 is the first initiative of the three-year memorandum of understanding (MOU) between NTUC Club and The Gym esportscentre, to introduce national-level tournaments, masterclasses and industry workshops to learn about responsible gaming and grow the esports community.

Mr Lim Eng Lee, NTUC Club's Chief Executive, said: "Esports can bring meaningful connection through the tournaments, masterclasses and workshops, in times like this. While people can connect virtually, there is also a strong community connection on the other side of the screen. 

“With the rise of social media, the Gen Z in particular, have built different communities, and they forge genuine, enduring friendships through esports."

Compete Like A Pro

The amateur players compete in a professional "big hall" setting. Yesterday, the finals took place at D'Marquee indoor event dome, complete with screens, lights and sound. The tournament was also supported by Pasir Ris East Youth Network, and graced by Mr Sharael Taha, Advisor to Pasir Ris East GROs.

Following ECHAMP 2021, expect to see up to 100 hybrid and virtual esports events on the calendar  in the next three years.

Mr Marc Lim, The Gym's Chief Strategy Officer, added: "There are many exciting developments on the horizon for the collaboration with NTUC Club. Through the upcoming programmes and activities, it will allow youths to gain deeper insights of the esports industry, such as behind-the-scenes productions and career opportunities.

"They can also learn the ropes from industry leaders as well as pick up responsible gaming habits through masterclasses and learning journeys."

Prizes:

1st place – $500 worth of Downtown East vouchers, 5x $300 APOL digital vouchers, 5x Philips 325M8C monitors (Worth $509 each), 5x Steel Series Arctis 5 headsets ( Worth $169 each)

2nd place – $300 worth of Downtown East vouchers, 5x $250 APOL digital voucher, 5x Philips 272M8 monitors (Worth $369 each) , 5x Steel Series TUSQ headphones ( Worth $75 each)

3rd place – $200 worth of Downtown East vouchers, 5x $150 APOL digital voucher , 5x Philips 242M8 monitors (Worth $269 each) , 5x Steel Series TUSQ headphones ( Worth $75 each)

Refreshments provided by Monster Energy