Quickie : What do our Warcraft player, Paulyan, Hybrid's player, rico, Need for Speed's Sophian Shahirul, and lastly, our FIFA Soccer player, Rinie Ramli had in common ? Their visas got rejected by the US Embassy. So what does this mean ? It means that we only have 3 games to shine this year that is Counter-Strike, Starcraft, and Command and Conquer III. Read here to know more about it.


The final is near. Below are the groupings for our own representative (Malaysia) in Counter-Strike, Starcraft, and Command and Conquer III.

Counter-Strike Group E
Titans (Singapore), Team roccat (Finland), CNO Gaming (Netherlands), Nearly God (Thailand), and Hybrid (Malaysia)

Antabax: Quite a tough group here with Titans and roccat. Nevertheless, I know Hybrid can prove themself here. Their past performance in tourneys around Malaysia is top notch on my opinion. Hybrid team members are Graham “StaiN!” Chin, Leong “fions” Khaw Jin, Abdul Azim “bobotrify” Yazid, Abdul Hakim “Jabronizs” Yazid and Hybrid|Nicholas (replacing Gerard “rico” Anand)

Starcraft : The Brood War Group D
Androide (Russia), BringiT.asS (Mexico), cooch (Trinidad & Tobago), jamesfoo (Malaysia), and Nyoken (USA).

Antabax: Besides Androide and Nyoken, the other players is not quite known internationally. So if jamesfoo can beat Androide and Nyoken, then there is no problem for the no 1 spot.

Command and Conquer III : Tiberium Wars
anze.slovenia (Slovenia), Apollooo (United Kingdom), khufu_ownz (USA), ror1Alpha (Malaysia), and StyleLiga (Germany).

This time around, maybe, our representative can put Malaysia on the map for cyber gaming. They have grown quite a lot since last time. For example, Hybrid has proved themself again why they are qualified to represent Malaysia for counter-strike just like last year and yeah, after watching the finals and the match against Vietnam during the recent WCG 2007 Malaysia's qualifier, I must say they improved a lot than last time. Their rushes, counter-push, communication, team play is simply amazing. I wish them good luck on representing us and all the best !

" From left, CaesarXT, Antabax, Slideways, MTH, & Derky "

After the wedding, without wasting our time, we head straight to Midvalley Megamall to witness the event of the year, WCG 2007 Qualifier. After a few visits to the booth that are available there, MTH have decided to sign-up for the online game, Rakion (with Derky and me).

" MTH signing up for Rakion "

After that, we head on to the main stage and saw some dudes dancing. After they finished dancing, we went to the battle arena to check out the games that are currently on live especially Counter-Strike and Warcraft.

" The dudes trying their luck to get the limited WCG 2007 Malaysia T-shirt "

" The Battle Arena "

" Them with Najib (a Fifa Contestant with 3.67 CGPA) "

While walking out of the battle arena, we spot some game models and we send CaesarXT and MTH to do some scouting.

" CaesarXT with a Red Indian Girl, is it ?? "

" MTH with the Lineage ][ Elves "

" The elves is trying to get back into the game "

The next day, Sunday, I managed to drive down to the final event of the game and just in time for the final match between Hybrid and XsM. FMJ lost to XsM and they managed to grab the 3rd spot. Thanx to Chapree, he entertained me for a while before I went back to my home sweet home !

" The Final showdown, Hybrid vs XsM "

" Hybrid's Bobo is concetrating hard with his sniper "

" The spectators have their eyes glued at the screen "

Overall, I've no comment for this year's WCG. Its just that I guess its quite a small event compared to last time. The booth somehow look packed because their were set up close to each other. Nevertheless, it is still a successful event if you ask me. Through out the event, Vietnam paid us a visit for a friendly training to prepare themself for the grand final. Im not quite sure about the other games but for Counter-Strike, I got to watch the first match which we were represented by FMJ and the 2nd match where Hybrid played. Sadly to say, Vietnam's team were below par with our own Malaysian team. I wish them good luck. Also, I spotted MYM.ASH at the Starcraft Qualifying Chart. He is the international clan, MYM, Starcraft Manager. He managed to reach the quarter-final. Anyway, below are some of the results for Wcg 2007 Malaysia Qualifier.

Counter-Strike 1.6
1st : Hybrid
2nd : Xsm
3rd : FMJ

Warcraft III The Frozen Throne
1st : Enet | Paulyan
2nd : Battleangel
3rd : Pin

Starcraft The Brood War
1st : JamesFoo
2nd : Marine
3rd : BB-Tank

Congratulations to the winners and may they bring fame for us Malaysian gamers at the grand final that will be held at Seattle.

Finally, it is the end for all of you who are searching for the replays of the recent WCG 2007 : Asian Championships (DOTA) replays. It has just been released about two days ago and bravo to the management team for releasing it. With a lot of tourneys happening especially MYM Pride 7 and GGC Malaysia, this replays could help the teams participating. To download it, you can straight away go to the GGC Forum or alternatively, you can click here. Enjoy !

Source : Underminer @ Lowyat.Net

It's been a week since the WCG 2007 ACG event where Cybertime RoA placed 2nd in the Dota All-Stars tournament. I have managed to catch one of their members, Kindaichi, for an online interview (through Lowyat.net). Because of work at the office and some other stuffs, I didnt manage to interview him earlier. Nonetheless, below is teh interview with Kindachi.

First of all congratulations to Roa for the 2nd place in WCG 2007 Asian Championship.
Thanks.

" Cybertime RoA, 2nd in Asia at WCG 2007 ACG "

Can you introduce to us about you and Roa ? How it all started ?
Po, Gin, Kindaichi and Doidoi got to know each other as we used to hang around Cybertime setapak. We played lan game quite often all the time. Next, Cybertime was forming teams and we are invited to be their gamers. I think most of the people know we did have teams such as Cybertime 1 and Cybertime 2 formerly. And then one time there was even Cybertime 3 where Chilam was in. After that, due to some personal circumstances, some of the members from both teams were not able to continue to be gamers and from there, the current Cybertime team was formed. The members were Chilam, Po, Gin, Kindaichi and Doidoi. Later, paulyan joined and team Cybertime became a team of 6. We are really happy to have such a great team. Without anyone of us, we could not have gone this far.

The matches are really tough, and it's unlucky that RoA lost to WE. What do you think about the final?
Refer to the question "From your opinion, whats the reason that RoA lost to WE ? Wrong draft ? Bad Strategy ? WE is better or just plain unlucky ?"

" The finals between China (WE) and Malaysia (Cybertime RoA) "

In the tournament, Bristleback are said to be the most imba (imbalance) hero. Any team that picked BB will win. What do you think about that?
I could not say teams taking BB will 100% win, but i could say the opponents would certainly have a hard time dealing with BB. Banning this hero would make DotA matches much more interesting.

" Focusing on the game "

" Cybertime RoA during the final match at WCG 2007 ACG "

From your opinion, whats the reason that RoA lost to WE ? Wrong draft ? Bad Strategy ? WE is better or just plain unlucky ?
Bad drafting was the main reason. We should have first picked BB. And they were good as well. Teamwork and personal skills were superb. Too bad we did not perform our best in the final. Our bad and we could blame no one but ourselves.

Besides China (WE), which country that you think had given Malaysia (RoA) a hard time ?
We faced Thailand, Australia, New Zealand and Philippines before we met China in the final. I supposed Team Flow from Philippines was the toughest team among the teams we have played.

" Cybertime RoA on the left, WE in the middle, and Flow on the right "

Looking back to the days and life at Wcg 2007 Asian Championship, is there anything memorable about the event?
Well, the event was definitely an unforgettable experience for us. And we have to say we were experiencing many things for the first time in Singapore. Carrying a Malaysian flag and being interviewed, one by one introducing us on the stage, feeling like stars among ourselves, and much more.

" The crowd that was there watching the final match "

Now the tournament is over, whats the next event RoA will focus on ?
Of course the SMM grand final.

Which team is the biggest threat for RoA currently here in Malaysia that can upset you/RoA in the next coming tournament ?
All teams in Malaysia are equally good now. They frequently train and put a great eye on the SMM grand final. There are no specific teams I could mention because any teams could have upset us anytime and we would not look down on any teams in Malaysia.

I would like to say thanx to you and RoA for putting some time aside for this interview.
No problem.

Any last shout outs ?
No thanks.

Thanx again to Kindaichi for being such a sport and spending a bit of his time to do this interview. Anyway, I wish good luck to RoA for the coming tourneys especially the "SMM Grand Finale".

Source (image) : Chapree da Grande (Multiplay@LYN), and Marcus Soh (GXL League)

Yesterday, a qualifier was held at FMJ SS2 (formerly known as Clutch Gamers). This is the first of a few qualifiers that will be held around Malaysia and the first place of each qualifier will get seeded into the final 8 in WCG 2007 Malaysia Championship! The second and third place will not leave empty handed. They will receive prizes sponsored by the folks behind WCG.

I guess this is the chance for any counter-strike team in Malaysia to shine and excel because the registration fees has been waived. This is good news to some of the teams. You wont be forking extra money just to try your luck on qualifying for the final 8 and if you lose, you can still try again later at the final national qualifier.

Currently, the confirmed venue for the qualifier is;

11th August 2007 at FMJ, SS2 Petaling Jaya (FMJ won)
19th August 2007 at Winter Night, Taman Chi Liung, Klang
20th August 2007 at EXC Internet Cafe, Pudu
25 Aug 2007 at Tbun Cybercafe, Nilai
26 Aug 2007 at Tbun Cybercafe, Wangsa Maju

Regarding yesterday's event, the final match between FMJ and Hybrid was quite intense. FMJ was leading with 14-1 for the first half of the map (de_dust2). On the second half, Hybrid tried to bounce back and they managed to perform well but FMJ, champions of WCG for more than 3 times, show why they are still worthy for the title this year. They managed to clinch another 2 rounds to make the final score, 2-13 resulting to FMJ 16 - 14 Hybrid. It was a really close match. This should be a wake up call for FMJ if they are trying to win the title again this year. A lot of teams from Malaysia, especially Hybrid, are qualified enough to take down FMJ and this qualifier, Hybrid has proven why they are still among the feared teams in Malaysia. Even without hix (he went to the newly reformed, FMJ), they still managed to get 2nd and they lost the final match with only 1 round (if the score is 1-14 for the 2nd half, it will become a draw thus, they lost just by 1 round). The next qualifier will be at Winter Night, Klang. I would like to wish Hybrid and other teams joining the qualifier good luck and have fun and to FMJ, congratulations on winning the qualifier.

Source : nles (Lowyat.Net)

Well, did Malaysia proved anything at the WCG 2007 Asian Championship ? Not quite good but we did a big impact for the dota scene. Our representative, Cybertime RoA managed to qualify for the final stage (they win all the games in the grouping stage) and they managed to get 2nd ! Getting 2nd here means that Malaysia is no 2 in Asia (for the time being). Well its quite sad that they lost to China (for the final) but hey, the China's team (World Elite, WE) was among the best clan for Warcraft 3 and one of their top players, Sky, played for their dota team. They are a fully sponsored team (a lot of sponsors) and they have their own training ground, blazing fast connection, a manager and yes, a salary so that they can just concentrate on what they do best, play games.

" Team Malaysia, Cybertime RoA grab the 2nd spot for Dota All-Stars "

The lost was not a big one. According to some of the spectators, RoA put up a big fight but eventually lost due to WE's BristleBack (BB). I cant talk more because I haven't watch the replay but BB is too imba if it were used by the right team.

" The first place goes to World Elite (WE) "

For the first final round, the quarter, WE defeated the famed Micronology (who beated Zenith to represent Singapore) to advance to the semi-final while RoA crushed New Zealand's M.C.C to advance. The other remaining teams were XDT from Korea against NG.LF from Thailand which NG.LF won and XCN from Indonesia vs Philippines's Flow where Flow managed to defeat XCN (XCN in Indonesia is actually like Zenith in Singapore, strong and hardly defeatable). It a suprise Flow managed to beat them but like I said, nothing can be analysed till the replays are out. For the semi, RoA is up against Flow and they won while WE defeated Ng.LF. The third place for dota goes to Flow.


For Warcraft III, the 1st spot was taken by none other than Soju, a pro gamer from Korea. He is quite known in the international scene and I guess there is no suprise that he won it.


During the event, there is also another event called the GXL Season 1 Finals where some Malaysians took part also. Some of them are Chapree (Need For Speed), ct-serry (Warcraft III) and Hybrid (Counter-Strike). Chapree managed to get third for Need For Speed. Congrats to him !

" This is Chapree @ CELGames "

Soju who won the Warcraft 3 tournament, got interviewed by Wind from wNv-Gaming. The most interesting part that I want to share here is this:

" Soju, from Korea "

" Now that you won AWCG, what do you plan to do with your prize money ?
Like most other professional gamers, I'll give all of the prize money to my parents "

He love his parent I tell you. In Malaysia, I dont think the gamers who won any tourney will give it to their parents. I think it is because of the prize money is not as much as WCG's or maybe, its just me :P !

Again, I would like to say congratulations to Cybertime RoA for getting 2nd place and Chapree for placing third in those events. To the others, there are still more to come and WCG Malaysia is just around the corner. Good luck, play smart.

Pictures are stolen from DotaSG, wNv-Gaming, and Asian Cyber Games.
Some of the replays for WCG 2007 ACG can be downloaded here.

Quickie I: Congrats to the winner of IZone Cyber Cafe's Dota Competition (at Nilai organized by INTI College) which is MkvL (1st place), Champion (2nd place), & L1 (3rd place).

Quickie II: Congrats to Cybertime1 for winning the SMM Dota Selangor Qualifier. Also congrats to the 2nd, 3rd and 4th place, which is Blitzone-1, sT, and CA.

The World Cyber Games : Asian Championship return again for the 2nd time and it will be held at Singapore (like last year) from 2nd to 5th August 2007 @ Suntec Convention Centre Hall 602. It is the Pan-Asian regional league that comprises of 12 Asian Countries including Australia and New Zealand. It is a side event from the WCG management and it aims to bring the best out of the Asian gamers in a competitive yet friendly environment. The participating countries are Australia, China, India, Indonesia, Hong Kong, Korea, Malaysia, New Zealand, Philippines, Singapore, Thailand, and Vietnam. Malaysia is participating in 3 out of 5 games involved which is Dota All-Stars, Fifa 2007 and Warcraft III. Below is the group fixtures for the games (including the other 2 games which is Dead or Alive 4 and Age of Empires III) courtesy of nles@lowyat.net who watched the videos and captured a screen shot of it.

"Malaysia's Representative : loOn4tic"

"Malaysia's Representative : battleangel"

"Malaysia's Representative : Cybertime RoA [Paul_Yan, po, doidoi, gin, & kindaichi]"

For Dota All-Stars, Malaysia are grouped together with Australia and Thailand. From my point of view, Australia's dota scene is quite big and recently they even announce a dota league to spread their dota scene even more. So, Australia might be Malaysia's toughest opponent here. This is because, eventhough Thailand also have a dota community, they lack international exposure where else our own representative, RoA participated in the recent MYM Prime #6 and managed to reach the quarter-final. From this, I might say that we can win against them.

Meanwhile, our neighbouring country, Indonesia and Singapore are grouped together with India. India shouldn't be a problem for them. I guess its just going to be between Singapore and Indonesia. Both have international exposure but Singapore do have an advantage because their result(s) internationally are better than Indonesia. Time will tell for both countries. Who knows, India, with a relatively unknown dota scene, might beat Indonesia or Singapore.

Is this Malaysia's path to stardom ? With recent results from our representatives in local and international scene, this event might just be the platform to launch our country as one of the feared countries in cyber games. I wish all the best for them. GG.