ALIBABA Sports, a subsidiary of China’s tech giant Alibaba, and Hong Kong’s Esports International Group (EIG) are bringing World Electronic Sports Games (WESG) 2019-2020 Asia Pacific Final, one of the world’s biggest e-sports events, to Malaysia.

It will take place from Jan 3 to 5 at the Sunway Pyramid Convention Centre in Petaling Jaya.

A total of 61 teams and 260 players from 58 countries will be converging in Malaysia to compete in Dota2, CS:GO, Starcraft 2 and Pro Evolution Soccer, for a share of the event’s USD300,000 (RM1.24mil) prize pool, as well as a chance to advance to the WESG Grand Final, to be held in Chongqing, China in March 2020.

The APAC Final for WESG is co-organised by EIG, Malaysian Digital Economy Corporation (MDEC) and SBS Events, with support from sponsors Asus Republic of Gamers and Mayflower. Strategic partners include Asean First Venture, Brand Soul, eGG Network and Fintechport.

“Not only are we bringing back the APAC Final this year, it is the first time that we are hosting this event outside of China and that is a huge milestone for us, ” said Alibaba Sports senior director for global e-sports Jason Fung.

“The e-sports industry in Malaysia is growing rapidly and we are glad to see tremendous support from various industry players for the WESG 2019-2020 Asia Pacific Final.

“We hope that through this event, we can bring a new level of e-sports competition to Malaysia and help further showcase the development of e-sports potential to the world, ” said EIG project director Chris Leung.

Tickets start from RM10 for a day pass and RM 850 for a VIP pass. The WESG 2019-2020 Asia Pacific Final will be broadcast live on eGG Network (Astro CH800).

“We are thrilled that Malaysia is the host of the APAC Final for WESG 2019-2020.

“Malaysia has long had an amazing community of fans and gamers that drive the games ecosystem. And now this community is matched with the infrastructure, the connectivity and an increasingly agile and versatile talent base, making Malaysia uniquely connected to bridge investors to throughout the region.

“Malaysia is truly the heart of digital Asean. We at MDEC fully support these great community initiatives in growing our digital economy and realising our ambition for creating a competitive and inclusive digital content ecosystem, ” said MDEC vice-president Hasnul Hadi Samsudin.