Online petition raises $12,000 for cybergamers
Three of the best cybergamers here get failing to get official sponsorship
OO GIN LEE reports
Three of the four of Singapore's best cybergamers have been handed a lifeline to represent the nation at the World Cyber Games (WCG) world finals in Cologne, Germany in November
The three players who have their tickets booked are Wilson Chia, 27, Mohamed Phirkhan, 19 and Dennis Ooi, 22.
Whether Danny Foo 28, can make his way to the WCG remains to be seen.
Last month, the Singapore Cybersports and Online Gaming Association (SCOGA) set up an online petition at www.socga.org/sgchamps to raiser the $16,400 needed for the airfare and accommodation for the four players.
So far, it has received over $12,000. The sum comes from companies and the public. The biggest sponsors include United States gaming peripherals maker Razer ($5000), regional game publisher Infocomm Asia Holdings ($2000) and online community forum VR-Zone.com ($1000). Individual donations totaled about $3000.
Play it right
Straits Times - Digital Life
By Oo Gin Lee
It's time to elevate cybergames to a national sport
YOU know something is wrong when two of Singapore's best cybergamers - Wilson Chia and Mohamed Phirkhan - will have to fund their own way to represent the nation at the World Cyber Games (WCG) finals in Cologne in November.
Especially when 13 other local gamers, most of whom are less known, will have their air tickets and accommodation paid for by the organisers of WCG Singapore.
The short answer to this irony - money politics.
Hailed as the equivalent of the cyber Olympics, WCG has grown from strength to strength. This year, it has 700 gamers from 70 countries. The top three winners of the national WCG rounds earn the right to play for their country in their respective games at the world finals, held in a different city each year.
The problem is, not every winner receives sponsorship from the local organisers of WCG for their trip like Phirkhan, the local Fifa Soccer champion at WCG last year.
The game was not among the list of sponsored games, so it looked like he had to pay his own way until Nanyang Polytechnic stepped in to pay for his trip to Seattle.
Phirkhan went on to become a professional gamer with a monthly stipend of US$3,000 (S$4,080) as part of the Singapore team in another international pro-gaming league called the Championship Gaming Series. At only 19, he clearly has a lot of potential.
Sadly, it's deja vu this year: He was the Fifa Soccer local champion at
WCG Singapore last week and, again, has no sponsorship.
In contrast, new players of new games like Guitar Hero 3 and the Asphalt 4 mobile game are being sponsored by the local WCG organisers, even though they are untested.
WCG Singapore is organised by Rapture Gaming, with Samsung, Intel and Microsoft as the main sponsors. The four decide which titles to support for the world finals.
It's a no-brainer, for commercial motivation is involved.
Microsoft will obviously support the titles it publishes - Halo 3, Project Gotham Racing 4 and Age Of Empires. Dead Or Alive 4 is a Microsoft game too, but not Virtual Fighter 5, which is why the sponsorship ended this year.
Mobile phone maker Samsung wants to be better connected with today's youth. So casual games like Guitar Hero 3 and the Asphalt 4 mobile game would be its cup of sponsorship tea.
That's why even though Singapore's chances in Fifa Soccer is relatively stronger, there are no dollars backing it. Electronic Arts, the game's publisher, is not among the main sponsors here and has no say in the situation.
The crunch is this: As long as the Singapore Sports Council does not elevate cybergames to a national sport, the activity will always be dominated by money politics - never by national aspirations. If behemoth China recognises cybergames as a national sport, I don't see why cybergames cannot be officially sanctioned here.
Wired Singapore can be a world force in this niche. It just badly needs support from the top.
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Winners of WCG '08 Singapore appeal for funds to
Compete in global championships
Singapore, August 26, 2008 – An online fund-raising campaign has been started to enable Singapore's top cyber-athletes compete in the upcoming Grand Finals of the World Cyber Games (WCG) '08 in Cologne, Germany. This fundraising campaign is crucial after gamers were stranded without sponsorship even though they qualified at the National Finals to represent Singapore. Three of these Singaporean champions are even medal hopefuls in Cologne.
World Cyber Games (WCG) is the world's largest and most recognized gaming festival. This year, more than 800 of the world's best cyber-athletes from over 70 countries will be arriving in Cologne, Germany to compete. Unless our six national cyber-athletes manage to raise S$5,000 each by September, they will not be able to represent Singapore in Cologne even though they won that opportunity by qualifying at the Singapore National finals. Unlike other countries like China and South Korea, Singapore has yet to recognize cyber-gaming as a national sport. Therefore these cyber-athletes find a lack of structured support even though some of them have performed consistently well on the international stage. In a last ditch attempt to participate and win in what has been hailed by some as the equivalent of the cyber Olympics, our national cyber-athletes have decided to personally raise the $30,000 needed to cover airfares, accommodation and tournament entrance fees. Inspired by their maturity and determination, (Singapore) Cybersports and Online Gaming Association (SCOGA) has decided to help these cyber-athletes because one of the cornerstone of our mission is to “achieve international success and recognition for Singapore in competitive gaming”. Some of our cyber-athletes actually stand a good chance of winning medals and bringing home the glory. Team members have previously won numerous pan-Asian and international titles including
·2005 World Cyber Games International Grand Finals Dead or Alive 1st Runner Up
·2006 World Cyber Games Asian Championship Dead or Alive Champion
·2007 World Cyber Games Asian Championship Dead or Alive 1st Runner Up
·2007 Championship Gaming Series Pan-Asian Championship Team Champion
·2007 Championship Gaming Series World Finals FIFA Individual 2nd Runner-Up
·2007 Championship Gaming Series World Finals Dead or Alive Individual Champion
The players who have won WCG 08 Singapore and being supported in this fundraising are Mohamed Phirkhan s/o Mohamed Yusuf Khan (FIFA 08), Mohamed Fadhil Bin Mohamed Anwar (Need for Speed), Dennis Ooi (Command & Conquer 3), Lim Wei Yang (Warcraft III), Danny Koo Kwok En (Virtua Fighter 5) and Wilson Chia (Virtua Fighter 5).
Of these 6 players, SCOGA have strong reasons to believe that Wilson, Phirkhan and Danny have good medal chances in Cologne. However, SCOGA will be fundraising for all 6 with a goal of S$30,000/- through our online website http://www.SCOGA.org/SGchamps.
Donations can be made through Paypal, cheque, and by 28th of August, through eNETS which supports Mastercard and VISA. We have to reach our targets by early September 08. Sponsorships are also welcome.
At the time of writing, close to S$5,000/- have been raised through the gaming community and friends.
On behalf of our Singapore cyber-champions, we plead for your support to donate and help us spread the word. Your support is crucial in sending these Singaporeans to cyber Olympics and win a medal for Singapore.
We do not have much time and every effort counts.
Notes to Editor:
· For complete player profiles, please visit
http://www.SCOGA.org/SGChamps
· For more information on WCG, please visit http://www.worldcybergames.com
· For additional information or to interview the athletes, please contact
Nicholas Khoo.
Contact Information
Nicholas Khoo, SCOGA Co-Founder
Nicholas@SCOGA.org
Kelvin Tan, SCOGA President and Co-Founder
Kelvin@SCOGA.org, 97638910
CounterStrike:Source Preparation Bootcamp for CGS Coverage Article
The CounterStrike:Source Preparation Bootcamp was held on 12th April 2008. This event was initiated by the Cybersports & Online Gaming Association (Singapore) to further prepare all competitors for the international stage at the CGS Pan Asian Finals in Wuhan on 30th April.
The event was held in HIGH Café, one of the popular LAN Centres in the eastern side of Singapore, along East Coast Road.
There were a total of 12 participating teams consisting of 60 semi-professional gamers. These teams had earlier took part in the local CGS draftings to be selected to represent Singapore for the CGS Pan Asian Finals in Wuhan.
The bootcamp started at 1 p.m. with all the teams grouped into 3 groups of 4 with the top 2 of each group being put into a separate table afterwards to play a knock out format to simulate a tournament setting. Everyone had fun and played their hearts out in order to do their best. Many supporters and friends attended and cheered for the teams.
At 3.30 p.m a short break was declared as players took to the relaxation corner of the Café for a much needed rest. Meanwhile representatives from SCOGA were setting up a short presentation to introduce themselves to the gamers.
SCOGA is proud to be of service to all the 60 gamers there and is glad to have garnered their support. The skirmish continued shortly after.
At about 6.00 p.m, the boot camp officially concluded with SCOGA nominating three teams to receive a small monetary award as a form of encouragement and reward. We hope that all the teams present enjoyed themselves and were able to exchange valuable information during the entire day’s worth of practice and may the players who are picked for the CGS do us all proud!
11th April 2008
The CyberSports and Online Gaming Association (Singapore) also known as SCOGA is pleased to announce our first event of 2008 which is a CounterStrike:Source (CS:S) preparation bootcamp for the Championship Gaming Series (CGS).
Please find the details of the event as follows :
Venue: HIGH Cafe, 19 East Coast Road, #02-01
Date: Saturday, April 12 2008
Time: 12pm - 8pm
Awards
As part of SCOGA's ongoing efforts to support and encourage the local gaming community to do well on an International Level, we are also awarding cash rewards totaling $1000/- to 3 of the most promising teams at our bootcamp.
Game Format for CS:S
The format will be similar to the North American draft. 3 groups of 4 teams (12 teams) each.
Round robin. Top team from each group qualifies to play another round robin. Winner is always decided by total points scored minus total points conceded.
After the top 3 teams are determined, the remaining 6 teams will be matched up against each other on particular maps.
Fees and Registration
No registration fees. However gamers will have to pay $1 per hour for computer usage
We are pleased to announce the event is fully registered with 12 teams.
This event is not associated with the CGS. In fact the CGS drafting event was held recently at E2MAX. But results of the official CGS Singapore draft have not been announced yet. As a preparation event, the results of this will not dictate or influence the results of the CGS draft in anyway.
SCOGA feels that regardless of the draft outcome, this event will help to further prepare all competitors for the international stage at the CGS Pan Asian finals in Wuhan on April 30th as Singaporean Cyberathletes will get the chance to share and refine strategies at the event.
We believe this will augur well for eSports in Singapore as a whole which is SCOGA's primary goal as a non-profit organisation.
About SCOGA
SCOGA was formally registered as Cybersports and Online Gaming Association (Singapore) in Feb 2008 with the mission "to develop local gaming communities, through education, to achieve international success and recognition for Singapore in competitive gaming". In the midst of registering as a National Sports Association, the acronym SCOGA has been used instead of 'COGA(S)' because we plan to be the national organisation for Singapore eSports eventually with 'Singapore' in front of the organisation name.
The executive committee is made up of some of the top cyberatheletes, coaches, managers of the Singapore eSports scene as well as concerned parents, educators and doctors. Our patron is Dr Yeo Ning Hong, who is also the current patron of Singapore National Olympic Committee.
SCOGA is in our infancy and also in the midst of planning exciting events for 2008. More information can be found on http://www.scoga.org
Contact Information
Nicholas Aaron Khoo, SCOGA Co-founder
nicholas@scoga.org
Kelvin Tan, SCOGA Co-founder, President
kelvin@scoga.org
SG Sword recognises SCOGA as good support for gamers
16th March 2008
SCOGA mentioned in SG Sword Presentation for Microsoft Day
The last speaker was StrykerX, as a representative of SOCGA, started off with an insights on what attribute is needed in order to become a professional gamer. He pointed out that Sword had already transcend from being gaming for fun to treating it like a real sport. It's not all fun anymore and there are many sacrifice to be made. A few personal examples of sacrifice are shared in order to give the listeners a clear picture of what he meant. Moving on to then talking about SOCGA, this new local organisation looking at promoting healthy gaming in areas of gaming. Their mission is to encourage proper gaming habits and they are looking forward to working with young talents.
Link : http://singaporesword.thecgs.com/?id=5439
Computer Games & Allied Technology 2008
18th Feb 2008
SCOGA has been invited to join as one of the supporting partners for “Computer Games & Allied Technology 2008”, an event organized by IIAS and IDA.
CGAT 08 offers numerous opportunities to promote your Company’s Name, Product or Service to a focused target audience from the Game industry. The sponsorship and exhibition opportunities accord a cost effective marketing channel with extended Return-On-Investment. CGAT 08 Sponsorship opportunity provides an effective media for Company logo branding and is supported by extensive conference promotion and marketing across different media. The Conference website shall detail the sponsorship support with logo branding and a brief company profile. The Sponsors and Exhibitors list would be widely circulated with the Conference Proceedings and Program Schedule to all the conference and symposium attendees. The Sponsorship support for the Conference shall be verbally acknowledged during the Opening and closing ceremonies.
Link : http://www.cgames.com.sg/sponsor.htm
Birth of SCOGA for Singapore CyberSports
4th Feb 2008
On 2nd Feb 2008, Cybersports & Online Gaming Association (Singapore) was registered. Our aim is for Singapore to do well in the international eSports scene and also want to use eSports to improve the overall gaming scene in Singapore. Please support our cause!
SCOGA On CNA
19th Nov 2007
SCOGA Pre-launch CNA Interview
http://scoga20.ning.com/video/video/show?id=1120106:Video:2282