Red Bull Malaysia returns for Season 2 of Red Bull Esports

• FIFA 17 and FIFA Online 3 will be open only to Malaysians
• Singapore, Thailand, Indonesia and the Philippines join Season 2

AFTER the 2016 inaugural season, Red Bull Malaysia (RBM) Esports, comprising of tournament platform Red Bull Coliseum (RBC) and content platform Red Bull Esports Zone (RBEZ), returns in 2017 for Season 2.

RBC Season 1 debuted three game titles - Dota 2, Counter-Strike: Global Offensive and FIFA '16 and an aggregate prize pool of RM 50,000.

In addition to drawing over 1,100 players to RBC tournaments, RBEZ saw interest and engagement from the Malaysian eSports community, setting the stage for Season 2 and beyond.

Jate Samathivathanachai (pic, top right), director of Strategy at Allexcel, RBM’s brand representative, said “We had a fantastic first season and were elated to be able to support and connect with the local eSports community. Furthermore, we were pleased to elucidate how Red Bull, with its special formulation to increase mental alertness and endurance, can help gamers up their game.

“Here at Red Bull Malaysia, we believe in continuous improvement so in a nutshell, here’s what RBC Season 2 will look like: five games, five countries, over 5,500 players and a RM100,000 prize pool. We also believe in synergy and will be looping in four blue-chip partners who’ll help us make Season 2 an unforgettable one.”

RBC will retain Season 1 titles - Dota 2, Counter-Strike: Global Offensive and FIFA '17 and enhance the platform with the addition of two titles - FIFA Online 3 and Overwatch.

Both FIFA 17 and FIFA Online 3 will be open only to Malaysians and carried out on relevant platforms. FIFA 17 will be an on-ground tournament with a RM5,000 prize pool. It will be held at Gamesbond, RBM’s partner for hosting the on-ground standalone event.

FIFA Online 3 will be an on-line qualifier where 512 players will compete for a spot in the Grand Finale. FIFA Online 3 is also only open to Malaysians.

Similar to FIFA Online 3; Dota 2, Counterstrike: Global Offensive and Overwatch will be played online initially and the top teams will then qualify to play on-ground at the Grand Finale.

These three games however, will be open to four other countries apart from Malaysia, each having its own online qualifiers and the winners of those independent online qualifiers will stand a chance to participate in the Grand Finale on Red Bull Coliseum.

The total prize pool of RM100,000 will be divided into:

• Dota 2 - RM50,000
• Counterstrike: Global Offensive - RM20,000
• FIFA Online 3 - RM20,000
• Overwatch - RM10,000

South East Asian (SEA) eSports has always been under the watchful eye of the world and RBM intends to harness the SEA community by extending both RBC and RBEZ platforms to the region.

With Malaysia still at the heart of its initiative, RBM will open RBC tournaments to four additional SEA countries including Singapore, Thailand, Indonesia and the Philippines, to further unify the SEA eSports community.

Growing the community in multiple ways, RBM has also launched its partnership initiative with the following Season 2 partners: Micro Star International (MSI) - Official Laptop Partner, Digi Telecommunications - Official Streaming Partner, Logitech - Official Peripherals Partner and AirAsia, for regional travel packages for selected tournament participants.

“Being part of ESL this year was a stepping stone for us. Red Bull Coliseum is part of our next phase in the gaming roadmap we have for 2017. We believe that gaming has a positive impact towards the youth today, instead of the conventional negative stigma and we want to champion them by enabling them to pursue eSports as a career.

“We feel there’s huge potential for eSports to be big in Malaysia, due to the huge crowd we’ve experienced at ESL and we are inspired by their enthusiasm and energy. We hope that there’s more brands in Malaysia that can support eSports.

“We aspire to create products that help enable convenience (steam wallet) and cultivate the gaming community in Malaysia, both young and old,” says DiGi Activation & Sponsorships head Muhaymin Mustakim (pic, bottom right).

Similar to 2016, RBEZ will continue to house all new and intriguing esports content including gaming-related and gamer lifestyle articles, monthly webisodes that will feature both familiar and fresh faces and tournament highlights.

For more information, please visit www.RedBull.com.my/esports 

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