Sri Lankan athletes compete among the best at Global Esports Games 2021
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Esports athletes Mohammed Shihab Mohammed Rizan (left) and Malindra Perera (WarPenguin) (right) who represented Sri Lanka at the Global Esports Games 2021 playing eFootball 2022 and Street Fighter 5 respectively
Sri Lankan Esports athletes raised the nation’s flag high at the inaugural Global Esports Games organised by the Global Esports Federation. The Games began with Regional Qualifier Tournaments, followed by the World Finals in Singapore from December 17 to 19, 2021.
Sri Lanka Esports sent a national esports athlete squad of 13 players ensuring representation for each title at the games; hosted Dota 2, eFootball 2022 and Street Fighter 5.
Competing in the women’s segment were Sri Lanka’s first National Women’s Dota 2 team of Tikiri Diasena (Stardust), Zahra Thajudeen (Nerd), Nardhya Grero (Prince$$), Semini Perera (JollyGood!), Jessica Devendra (Chansica) and Nadeeshani Jayasinghe (FoXy).
The national men’s Dota 2 team comprised of Aarathanan Sivasubramaniam (Prince SL), Ravindu Sama Daniel (AB), Deloshaan Logeswaran (Matrix), Matheesha Madhava and Muksith Ajwath (TenzaZengetsu) who competed in the open segment of Dota 2.
Mohammed Shihab Mohammed Rizan and Malindra ‘WarPenguin’ Perera represented Sri Lanka in the solo games eFootball 2022 and Street Fighter 5 respectively.
Both the Sri Lankan Dota 2 teams took part in the regional qualifiers wherein the men’s team competed against Brunei, Pakistan and Nepal. Sri Lanka’s Women’s Dota 2 team played their first international match ever in the Regional Qualifiers against Mongolia. Both teams played excellently but couldn’t move forward.
Mohammed Shihab and Malindra Perera took part in the grand finals of the Global Esports Games 2021 in Singapore where both athletes built connections, attended esports forums and gathered experience for Sri Lankan esports. This was Mohammed Shihab’s second Grand Finals placement in 2021 following just a month after his run at the IESF World Championship.
On December 17, the Grand Finals were launched and Mohammed Shihab was up against Slovakia and Syria in the group stage where after four nail-biting games, as Syria moved forward. Malindra faced Brunei, Pakistan and Nepal in the group stage and won against Brunei, but faced losses to Pakistan and Nepal.
Backed by the strength of its main sponsor Dialog Axiata, official gaming laptop partner ASUS Republic of Gamers and strategic partner Gamer.LK, Sri Lanka Esports’ performance at the Global Esports Games 2021 is a significant step towards growth in international esports.
As one of Sri Lanka’s largest telecom service providers Dialog Axiata is a foundation for the national esports ecosystem. Dialog Axiata’s gaming subsidiary Dialog Gaming, also focuses on cultivating the Sri Lankan gaming and esports environment through competitions and collaborations.
ASUS Republic of Gamers brings a range of high end gaming laptops to Sri Lanka’s gamers and their partnership ensures our team has access to the best gear to drive their sport. Gamer.LK has spearheaded the nation’s gaming scene for over 13 years and serves as Sri Lanka Esports’ direct connection to the national gaming community cultivating gamers from all levels.
Despite many setbacks, the year 2021 has been productive for Sri Lanka esports. With many international events on the horizon, including the Asian Games where a range of esports titles will be included as medal events, Sri Lanka Esports will continue to groom its athletes to carry the nation from strength to strength.