Malaysian eSports player part of team to win RM16mil in Dota 2 tournament

Yap (far right) was part of eSports team PSG.LGD, who won big in the recent Dota 2 International.

A Malaysian eSports player was part of a team that raked in US$4.1mil (RM16.82mil), after placing second in the International 8 Dota 2 tournament.

Yap "xNova" Jian Wei's China-based team PSG.LGD was edged out in the finals yesterday by European team OG, who went home with the US$11.2mil (RM45.96mil) grand prize.

"In one of the greatest eSports series ever, we fall to @OGesports in the decisive game 5. It's heartbreaking, but that's what makes eSports so special. GGWP to @OGesports, you deserved that Aegis," tweeted the team's official account. 

Yap joined PSG.LGD in January this year, being the only Malaysian in the team of five. 

A professional eSports player who entered the scene back in 2013, then made his international debut in 2016. 

This was the largest win for a team Yap has been in, with his other big victories also being with PSG.LGD, earning US$500,000 (RM2.05mil) in the Epicenter XL tournament and US$400,000 (RM1.64mil) in the MDL Changsha Major, both in May.

Dota 2 is a multiplayer online battle arena (MOBA) game by Valve Corporation, which has become a popular competition format for eSports tournaments. 

This year's International 8 was held in Vancouver, Canada and had a prize purse of US$25.53mil (RM104.81mil), roughly a million higher than last year's tournament. 

eSports is gaining momentum, even in traditional sporting events.

In April, it was that eSports will be a demonstration sport at the Indonesia Asian Games, and will become an official medal sport at the 2022 Asian Games in China.

However, as a demonstration sport, medals won will not be counted in the official overall medal tally.