By Zareef Muzammil
SHAH ALAM Aug 27 — The Selangor Xtiv Virtual introduced last year proves the state government is serious about boosting e-sports activities during the Covid-19 pandemic.
State executive councillor for sports Mohd Khairuddin Othman said the tournament that offers lucrative prizes had attracted more than 250,000 entries from participants of various backgrounds as it does not only focus on elite or professional players.
“The bottom line is that when Covid-19 happened, the state government did not choose to sit still. If the people and the government are scared, there will be no progress.
“That is why we dare to take risks, and I immediately instructed (sports) officers to come up with something (sporting events) because we know that we need to continue to move forward. If not we cannot do it physically, then we do it online,” he said during Media Selangor’s Bual Bicara virtual talk show titled ‘Selangor’s Efforts to Help Youth’ that was aired live on Media Selangor’s Facebook page and SelangorTV Youtube channel last night.
For this year’s tournament edition, Selangor Xtiv Virtual offers a total prize pool of RM411,680.
The challenges include Selangor Xtiv Virtual E-Sports, Selangor Xtiv Virtual Marathon, Selangor Xtiv Virtual Martial Art, Selangor Xtiv Virtual Martial Art, Selangor Xtiv Virtual Youth Busking, Selangor Xtiv Virtual Jump Rope, Selangor Xtiv Virtual Chess and Selangor Xtiv Virtual Ride,
Last year, the programme received an unexpected response involving 250,631 entries and 18 million views on social media platforms.
Meanwhile, following the reopening of sports and recreational activities in the state, the Paya Jaras state assemblyman had reminded the public to prioritise safety to prevent the spread of the pandemic.
“Whatever the sports activities are, safety concern needs to be a priority because we do not want issues on Covid-19 to arise. Everyone is afraid of the pandemic because it is not a small issue, especially when it involves death, ”he said.
