Sri Lanka’s National Esports teams travel to Bali to compete in Global Championships

Sri Lanka’s National team travelled to Bali, Indonesia for the 14th World Esports Championship Finals on 30 November. The tournament will continue until 12 December and will include some of the world’s best Esports athletes. Over 120 nations are competing for a place in the finals. This year’s event will include Dota 2, CS:GO, MLBB, Tekken 7, and eFootball 2023.

Esports athletes from Sri Lanka have qualified for eFootball 2023 and PUBG Mobile. Mohammed Shihab Rizan will represent Sri Lanka in eFootball 2023 and the four-member team for PUBG Mobile consists of Haseen ‘Nrcxhaz3n’ Suhaib, Thamara ‘Susthy’ Surendra, Pasan ‘Doom’ Rodrigo, and Harindu ‘Amare’ Amaratunga. 

Mohammed Shihab Rizan is an eFootball pro. He played Pro Evolution Soccer (PES) for Sri Lanka in the Asian Games 2018 Regional Qualifier and he was the Sri Lankan flag bearer for last year’s World Championship opening ceremony. Shihab competed against Nigeria, Georgia, Mongolia, and Mexico in the 2021 eFootball finals.

The PUBG Mobile team consists entirely of players from team NRC, one of the most successful PUBG Mobile teams in the country. They won the right to represent their country by competing in April’s national qualifiers. Before leaving the country, the team won another PUBG Mobile event, carrying their winning momentum into the international competition.

The squad will be participating in the group stages that began on the 1 December.

“We’re very excited to be at a point in Sri Lanka’s Esports journey where we are able to travel to these global championships and represent our country. We have no doubts that Sri Lanka will shine in this platform of sport,” said Sri Lanka Esports Association Treasurer Vikum Jayasekera, who is travelling with the squad that will be going to Bali for WEC 2022. He will also be attending the IESF General Meeting as a representative of Sri Lanka.

Sri Lanka eSports Association was founded in 2012. The Ministry of Youth and Sports in Sri Lanka has recognized the association with its twelve members as the regulating body for Esports in the country.

Dialog is the team’s main sponsor. Dialog is a major Sri Lanka telecom. It is known for its home broadband and wide range of data plans, which connect people all over the country.