5 Singapore esports success stories to celebrate on National Day

As we celebrate the 56th birthday of Singapore, it’s the perfect time to look back and thank our esports heroes who have flown our country’s flag high.

Unlike Olympic athletes, our esports heroes don’t usually get prime time coverage in the media. So let’s take a moment to glimpse back to our past, and seek inspiration for our future endeavours.

Xian

When you talk about Singapore’s esports heroes, there are really two names that stand out. The first is Ho Kun Xian, also known as Xian.

He is just 30 this year, but has already won numerous titles and accolades in the professional fighting games scene. In 2013, he won his biggest title, taking the top spot at EVO 2013 for Street Fighter IV: Arcade Edition.

He’s known for picking characters that aren’t in the meta to compete with, though he’s changed that to be more competitive (and win).

While not busy competing, Xian organises weekly local offline training events to grow the fighting games community, though that has transitioned to mostly online event during the pandemic.

Iceiceice

Known for his mastery at Dota 2, Daryl “Iceiceice” Koh is also Singapore’s first esports millionaire, proving that professional gaming can be quite a lucrative career.

Currently plying his trade in American esports organisation Evil Geniuses, the Singaporean player has travelled the world in search of greatness, having played in China as well for a stint as well.

Iceiceice’s play style can be described as flashy, making him a perfect space creator for the rest of his team. Alongside Deth, Iceiceice will be one of two Singapore players at the upcoming The International 2021 and will be competing for a share of the US$40 million prize pool.

Will he be bringing back the championship Aegis trophy? We’ll find out in October.

Team Flash

Taking top spot in 2018 for FIFA Online 3 were the squad of Team Flash, consisting of Singaporeans Amrann “BingBong” Gani Bin Musa Bakar and Joseph “Zarate” Yeo, as well as and Li “Yuwenc” Si-jun from China.

This earned the three players a cool US$150,000 for their efforts. While Yuwenc has since left, both BingBong and Zarate are still competing under the Team Flash banner.

We look forward to seeing their success in future tournaments.

Chawy

Considered to be one of the best League of Legends players, Wong “Chawy” Xing Lei had his start in Dota, where he played alongside Iceiceice in TI3 in a third place finish.

He’s played for the Singapore Sentinels, Taipei Assassins, ahq eSports Club and Hong Kong Attitude before retiring to be a coach.

He is currently Head Coach for his former club HK Attitude. Despite a career in gaming, Chawy’s also a fitness enthusiast, with the muscles and abs to prove it.

NutZ

Wong “NutZ” Jeng Yih may have retired from competitive Dota 2 in April early this year, but he’s still the second highest paid player in Singapore (for now).

He has found success placing as high as the 7-8th spot at TI5, and also in some of the smaller leagues and tournaments..

Despite calling it quits, NutZ still has the intention to remain in the scene to get involved with Singaporean esports projects.

He’s also keen to share his knowledge and help out aspiring players. Just slide into his DMs.

Aloysius Low is an ex-CNET editor with more than 15 years of experience. He's really into cats and is currently reviewing products at canbuyornot.com

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