(front row, l-r) IEF's Yoon and Esding's Afizal signing the agreement. Also present are IEF members (back row).
A Malaysian eSports organiser is collaborating with South Korea-based International Exchange Federation (IEF) to develop South-East Asian gamers through participation in international collegiate tournaments.
E-Sports Distinct International Network Gamers (Esding) signed a Memorandum of Collaboration (MOC) with the IEF to increase support for students – mainly from Malaysia, Singapore, Indonesia and Thailand – through sponsorship and training to encourage participation in IEF’s international tournaments.
The pact was signed on Nov 24 at Jeju National University, South Korea during the IEF International E-Culture Festival, but was only recently formally announced.
The Festival has been running since 2006, and is one of the biggest annual eSports events in South Korea, currently drawing participation from Korea's and China's gamers.
IEF overseas partnership director Yoon Duk-jin says the organisation sees many possibilities after cooperating with Esding over the last three years to expand collegiate eSports.
"Through this agreement, I think we will be able to create a bigger pool of players through cultural exchange between South Korea and South-East Asian collegiate students," he says.
Esding founder Afizal Amid says that their most important priority is to help provide positive growth for the players, with IEF's cultural values like hard work, diligence and humility fitting nicely within the healthy gaming narrative they are trying to set.
"Exposure on an international level such as IEF's International E-Culture Festival will benefit and improve local players," he said.
To begin with, the organisations will focus on participation in international collegiate events by the four countries where Esding currently has a presence, though more countries may participate in the near future.
Afizal confirmed that the international tournaments would be organised in South Korea and China but may also expand to Malaysia, Singapore, Indonesia and Thailand.
Participants would be selected for international tournaments based on their performance at regional qualifiers, or in countries that don't have such tournaments, Esding would scout high performing players. Among the games Esding focuses on are Hearthstone and League Of Legends.
IEF is an organisation under the cooperation between the South Korean and Chinese governments, sponsored by the Korea Creative Contents Agency and the Korean Culture, Sports and Tourism Ministry.
Esding hosts inter-college eSports tournaments, such as the Malaysia Esding Elites Inter-Varsity eSports Championship, in collaboration with electronic sports operators and broadcasting networks.
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