The Gym Esportscentre Partners NTUC Club to Organise On-site Mobile Legends: Bang Bang Invitational
5 March 2021 - The Gym Esportscentre, in partnership with NTUC Club, organised the year’s first on-site Esports invitational for Singapore’s gaming community, bringing together some of the nation’s up-and-coming Mobile Legends: Bang Bang (MLBB) teams.
Eight teams squared off in the Friyay Night Gaming (FNG) event at Downtown East on Friday behind closed-doors. Teams strictly observed social distancing and inter-mingling rules with the public only able to watch the action online.
The initiative is the first step by NTUC Club to make Esports one of the key pillars to engage the youth. FNG was started in July 2020 to engage NTUC’s nEbO and U Sports communities. For this on-site gaming event, U Sports and The Gym have jointly invited eight teams of five players, of which 25 per cent are NTUC’s nEbO members.
Said The Gym’s founder Mr Neo Yong Aik: “We are honoured to be part of this historic initiative for Friyay Night Gaming.
“Having a modest eight teams competing on-site is the first step to hopefully having more teams taking part in future physical tournaments. We are committed to creating opportunities for Esports enthusiasts to compete and improve themselves, whether you are a recreational gamer or an aspiring professional player.
“The Gym’s vision has always been to build a vibrant Esports community from the ground up. We hope to increase competitions locally and also set the standard for Esports events in Singapore with high-quality production. Our mission is to help level up Singapore’s gaming scene.”
Added Ms Gigi Low, Deputy Director, Membership Engagement & Experience, NTUC Club: “Friyay Night Gaming has been a great way to stay in touch with our nEbO members even when physical events cannot be held due to Covid. Since the start of FNG, we have seen close to 1,000 participants taking part in the weekly competitions, with over 70,000 online and social media interactions.
“Esports is taking off in Singapore in a big way and NTUC Club sees this as an exciting and trendy platform to engage Singapore’s youth and the young-at-heart.”
FROM FNG TO PROFESSIONAL LEAGUE
One of the teams which took part in the Friday’s event was Team Forsaken, a regular face at FNG over the past year. They recently qualified for Singapore’s first-ever independent MLBB professional league. Organised by Singtel, it features six invited teams and two qualifiers. Forsaken was one of only two teams to successfully emerge from the more than 128-team qualifiers.
Said team manager Roy Tan: “We are honoured to be a part of this exclusive event. It has been an amazing week for us; first qualifying for the MPL, and now being invited for FNG as a competing team.
“We are grateful for this opportunity to be part of this special event that represents our gaming community. It is truly a milestone for us to share our passion with the rest of the MLBB community at FNG.
“Our success has been built on being part of the gaming community and participating in the many regular events such as FNG, and many other events which provided us platforms to compete. I am heartened to hear that The Gym and NTUC Club are spearheading more community gaming initiatives. We hope that with this, the Esports scene will continue to grow.”