You Can Now ‘Study’ To Be A Professional Gamer In Malaysia’s First eSports Academy

Remember when people used to say that gaming is a waste of time? HAH! Not anymore.

Malaysia’s electronic sports governing body eSports Malaysia (eSM) has teamed up with a local university, Asia Pacific University of Technology & Innovation (APU), to set up the APU eSports Malaysia Academy.

A Memorandum of Understanding (MoA) was signed between Datuk Dr. Parmjit Singh, CEO of APIIT Education Group, and Dato’ Latt Shariman Abdullah, President of eSM, according to Hardwarezone.

Much to Malaysians’ excitement, there will be courses for competitive gaming, team managing and shoutcasting.

For competitive gaming, the course will be carried out by professional gamers on the basics needed in these four games; FIFA Online, Counter-Strike, Dota 2 and League of Legends.

Now you don’t have to listen to mom yelling at you for gaming all day anymore! “Aiyo, this is my homework lah.” *continues to game*

Source: Facebook/APIIT&APU

The academy will be a platform for those who want to contribute to the competitive gaming scene. Be it as a gamer, team manager or even shoutcaster.

“Students will have access to semester-long courses on the gaming field of their choosing,” said Rinie Ramli, Secretary General of eSM.

Scheduled to start by the first week of April, the courses will commence first as professional gamers have already signed up as trainers for the for games mentioned above.

For behind the scenes jobs like tourney managers, we’ll have to wait for further announcements after APU and eSM have identified qualified individuals for the job.

Source: Facebook/APIIT&APU

The opening of the academy is a huge step in the Malaysian eSports community. Malaysians have been flourishing in the industry, especially ones who play Dota 2.

Malaysian eSports athlete Zheng Yeik Nai a.k.a. “MidOne” was ranked as the best Dota 2 player in Europe. Back in August 2016, Team Fnatic won RM5.6million in The International Dota 2 Tournament. We also have strong female eSports athletes in the industry; Grill Gaming (GG), an all-girl team grabbing the first spot in The Female SEA League. Don’t play play ehh!  

The industry is already jam-packed with amaaazing players, can you imagine all the talent that will be discovered with this academy! Now, brb while I sign up!

Also read: Malaysian All-Girls DOTA 2 Team Wins First Place In International Tournament