A heady year for gaming enthusiasts

Year 4 Data Science and Analytics student Shaun KOH was one of the participants in NUS Esports’ varsity team, which had one of the best showings at the Inter-Varsity Games Festival (IVGF) 2023.

Shaun was part of the 12 teams and 67 student participants for Mobile Legends: Bang Bang, the most popular game at the festival.

Having participated in IVGF last year, he decided to give it “one last shot” this year as he will be graduating.

He says, “I got to meet friends whom I don’t usually see in school and the games were fun. I got to play the character I wanted to play.” As a feather in his cap, Shaun eventually emerged among the top four in IVGF 2023.  

Shaun was first introduced to esports in 2018 when he discovered Fnatic, a professional esports organisation, and watched their League of Legends team, Rekkles, Hylissang, Caps, Broxah and Soaz/Bwipo, through their journey at the 2018 League of Legends World Championship.

He then started playing Mobile Legends: Bang Bang (MLBB), a mobile multiplayer online battle arena game, in Junior College with his friends, and realised that he was climbing the charts quickly and enjoying the faster pace of the game. This quickly sparked his passion for esports and he decided to join NUS Esports as an undergraduate, where he improved his mechanical skillsets and built up a spirit of sportsmanship together with his teammates. 

He cites, as standout moments, going down to a live location to participate in the competition and attending NUS Esports events, especially the team dinners after the competitions.

His advice? “Give it a try and have fun at the competitions. But remember that these competitions are still a game and don’t let emotions take over and fight with your teammates!”

IVGF is the annual inter-varsity e-sports tournament where local universities battle it out for the top spots across different computer, mobile and console games.

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