Engineering PhD Holder Wins Malaysia's First Ever E-Sports Gold Medal In The SEA Games
Yew hopes his win will dispel any thoughts of electronic games being addictive.
By May Vin Ang — 12 Dec 2019, 02:41 PM
Dr Yew Weng Kean, an electrical engineering PhD holder, has made history as Malaysia's first ever e-sports athlete to win a gold medal in the 2019 Southeast Asian Games (2019 SEA Games)
Also known in the Malaysian e-sports community as wkyew90, Dr Yew is an assistant professor at Heriot-Watt University Malaysia in Putrajaya.
The 29-year-old bagged the gold in 'Hearthstone: Heroes of Warcraft' - an online two-player card game - by overthrowing Thailand's Werit Popan 3-1 in the finals, reported theSundaily.
Despite an earlier setback, he made it all the way to the grand finals
According to Lowyat.net, Dr Yew had lost to Singapore in the first round of the Hearthstone playoffs but made a comeback by defeating representatives from Thailand, Vietnam, and Singapore in the losers bracket to finally come back up in the finals to face Popan.
As an academician, Dr Yew hopes his win will dispel any thoughts of electronic games being addictive
"This gold medal is meaningful not only for me but for Malaysia as I am the country's first e-sports champion in the SEA Games," he said, as quoted by New Straits Times, after the medal presentation on Monday, 9 December.
"I feel so happy, and I hope my win will encourage more Malaysians to be involved in e-sports. Its popularity is growing and it will continue to evolve. Nobody can stop its growth."
He believes e-sports is the world's fastest-growing industry and hopes that parents will not see it as a bad thing
"Electronic games can actually help a person think more strategically and critically," he said, according to Stadium Astro.
"These are skills needed to progress in life. However, children who love electronic games should also balance it up by giving equal focus to their studies and also practise a healthy lifestyle.
"If you focus only on electronic games, you will not be successful. I am a PhD holder, and I am living proof that one can excel both in e-sports and studies," he added.
E-sports made its debut at the SEA Games this year, becoming a medal event for the first time at an Olympic-recognised multi-sport competition
According to New Straits Times, there were six golds up for grabs through 'Mobile Legends: Bang Bang', 'Tekken 7', 'Starcraft II', 'Hearthstone', 'Arena of Valor', and 'Dota 2'.
On Sunday, 8 November, Malaysia also won a bronze in 'Mobile Legends: Bang Bang' through Ahmad Ali Huzaif Abdullah, Abdul Wandi Abdul Kadir, Jamil Nurolla, Izme Haqeem Hamsjid, and Hazeem Onn.
