SEPANG, July 17 — Muhammad Haqqullah Ahmad Shahrul Zaman, named the most valuable player (MVP) in the Mid Season Cup (MSC) Mobile Legend Bang Bang (MLBB) 2024, always had to prove to his parents that he made the right choice by venturing into e-sports.
The 17-year-old, better known as Sekys’, said e-sports players must produce the best results each time they compete in any tournament to win their parents’ hearts due to the stigma associated with the sport.
He admitted that he did not get his parents’ support when he first took up e-sports, but thanks to his hard work and ability to generate a side income, they have slowly but surely come to terms with it.
“If you want to venture into a field that you are keen on, then you must do it properly and never give up because this field (e-sports) is viewed negatively. But, when you show results, your parents will slowly accept (your involvement in e-sports).
“I, too, just completed my Sijil Pelajaran Malaysia, so I had to be disciplined. You need to be disciplined if you want to juggle being a pro player and a student,” he told the press upon arrival at the Kuala Lumpur International Airport today.
Sekys is a member of Selangor Red Giants (SRG), which brought glory to the country when they ended a seven-year drought in international e-sports for Malaysia by defeating the Philippines Falcons AP Bren Sport 4-3 in the Mid Season Cup Mobile Legend Bang Bang (MLBB) 2024 in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, on Sunday (July 14).
The victory saw SRG bag the trophy and US$1 million (RM4.67 million) in cash.
They received a rapturous welcome from local e-sports fans when they arrived at the KLIA. Also present to welcome them home were Youth and Sports Deputy Minister Adam Adli Abd Halim, Selangor Menteri Besar Dato’ Seri Amirudin Shari, and the state executive councillor for youth, sports, and entrepreneurship Mohd Najwan Halimi.
Meanwhile, Sekys, who is also the SRG jungler, refused to brag about his MVP success as he feels there is still room for improvement.
“There will surely be some pressure on us (in future tournaments), but we will continue to do our best,” he said.
Meanwhile, Najwan called on the SRG management to provide financial guidance to the players so that they can manage their finances well.
He also announced that the state government, through its subsidiary Menteri Besar Selangor (Incorporated) or MBI, has set aside RM200,000 for the team to prepare for the MLBB 2024.
— Bernama
