A well-known figure in the Sri Lankan Esports Arena, Kushan “ FlasHBuLLeT “ Senanayake is no stranger when it comes to FIFA. Set to represent Sri Lanka in the upcoming Asian Football Gaming Championship in Singapore, we sat down with FlasHBuLLeT to talk about his journey to get to this moment.

Getting into gaming at an early age, FlasHBuLLeT has played through every genre of gaming possible.

First person shooters, racing simulators, sports titles, strategy games, you name it.

But, being an avid football player at school from the age of 10, he’s always had a natural affinity towards Electronic Art’s world famous football gaming title FIFA. Combining the best of both worlds, he started playing the game from its 1998 version onwards.

As the years went by and consoles became more mainstream due to their ease of use, FlasHBuLLeT found himself playing FIFA frequently with his friends – all you needed to do to join in on the fun was just plug in another controller. It was through his friend that he learned about the rise of competitive gaming in Sri Lanka. Armed with almost 10 years’ worth of experience, he made his competitive debut at the 2009 World Championship Gaming Sri Lankan qualifier and bested his opponents to claim a spot. All the years of practice and honing his skills finally paying off, he made it to China, for the main WCG 2009 event. With trick shots and a flashy display of his skills, FlasHBuLLeT defeated seasoned players from Bangladesh, India, and Serbia.

A rising star, he was beginning to get a real taste for competitive gaming.

Two years later, and fresh as ever, FlasHBuLLeT was on his way to Andong, South Korea to represent Sri Lanka once more at the IeSF 2011 World Championship. Running circles around his opponents, FlasHBuLLeT swiftly took down the players representing Russia and the USA. With two years of competitive play, he had built quite the impressive track record. Winning 5 out of the 10 games played at an international level, he claimed the title of best FIFA player in Sri Lanka for the year 2012.

With each passing year, FlasHBuLLeT became a force to reckon with, the absolute best in Sri Lankan FIFA. Snagging medals every year, he had become a highly decorated FIFA veteran, his winnings include

•         Sri Lanka Cyber Games (SLCG) 2014 – Gold medal
•         PS4 challenge cup 2014 – Gold medal
•         2 v 2 urban challenge silver medal 2015
•         SLT Esports Championship 2016 – Gold medal
•         SLCG 2016- Silver medal
•         SLCG 2018 – Gold medal

Slipping into his football boots once more this year, it was time for FlasHBuLLeT to represent Sri Lanka once again – flying to Malaysia, for the ES sports championship in April 2019. Playing a grand total of 14 matches versus opponents varying in skill from both ends of the spectrum, he broke even. Winning 5 against players from Bangladesh, Malaysia, Singapore and losing 5. While FlasHBuLLeT was accustomed to a high caliber of competition, this tournament, however, was on a different scale of proportions.

Awestruck by how far Esports had come, he realized how it had grown into a multibillion-dollar industry he says.

“Sponsorships, contracts and the acknowledgment as athletes, it’s intense when you think about it. Can’t wait to see what’s in store for Sri Lanka.“

Apart from being an Esports Athlete, Kushan “ FlasHBuLLeT “ Senanayake is both academically and athletically gifted as well. At his alma mater Thurstan College, he played Football at a national level for 8 years and continued this streak at the University of Sri Jayawardenepura for another 4 years. As a result of his 12-year Football career, he is a highly decorated colors man at both Thurstan College and the University of Sri Jayawardenepura.

As for his academic prowess, FlasHBuLLeT methodically balanced his studies with sports and esports to a great extent. While he did start his gaming journey at the age of 9, he has also aced every exam thrown his way, Scoring 9 As for his O/Ls and 3 As for his A/Ls. He furthered his studies with a management degree at the University of Sri Jayawardenepura, has completed CIMA and is currently reading for the last level of CFA.

When asked about the future of FIFA in Sri Lankan Esports, FlasHBuLLeT had the following to say;

“ The Sri Lankan FIFA community is brimming with talent and untapped potential. I can confidently say that I’m not even in the top 5 when it comes to pure skill. But, in all my years of playing FIFA at a competitive level, I’ve learned that skill just isn’t enough to get you to the top.

Composure, confidence, and perseverance in the heat of the moment are what gets you to the top, and it’s what inexperienced players lack. Hard work and experience easily beats raw talent.

Right now, we’re in a really interesting place when it comes to Sri Lankan Esports as a whole.
Esports is growing at an accelerated with all the sponsorships and prizes up for grabs and so is FIFA, it’s crazy and it’s only going to get bigger.

 

My advice for budding FIFA Esports Athletes?
Never give up and make every match a learning experience. “

Capitalizing on his colorful history in Esports and experiences at recent tournaments, FlasHBuLLeT hopes to make a top 8 finish at this year’s Asian Football Gaming Championship in July, we wish him the very best.

During the last decade, the Esports scene in Sri Lanka has continued to grow with new and exciting milestones being achieved each year. This year has seen many achievements in Esports. In this light, a talented group of Esports athletes hoping to make their mark in the international Esports arena are representing Sri Lanka at this year’s Esports World Championship organized by the International Esports Federation (IESF). After a long hiatus, this marks Sri Lanka’s return to the IESF Esports World Championship. Continuously supporting the exponential growth of local Esports, members of the Sri Lanka Esports Association will be accompanying this group. Sri Lanka, a member of the IESF since 2010, will be one of the 46 member nations to take part in the Esports World Championship. After a round of national qualifiers, the following Esport athletes were selected by the Sri Lanka Esports Association to represent Sri Lanka at the 10th Esports World Championship,

League of Legends

Counter Strike : Global Offensive

Tekken 7

The world’s governing body for Esports, the IESF will be hosting the tenth iteration of the Esports World Championship – its largest Esports event. Taking place in Kaohsiung, Taiwan, the 10th Esports World Championship’s main events will be held from the 9th of November to the 11th of November.

Formed with the intent of fostering steady and sustainable growth in esports, the International Esports Federation continuously strives to support its member nations regardless of language, race, and culture. Initially starting off with 9 member nations, the IESF now spans over 48 countries.

Featuring three game titles; League of Legends, Counter-Strike: Global Offensive and Tekken 7, the IESF’s 10th Esports World Championships will have a prize pool of 54,000 USD, with 10,000 USD of the prize pool going to the overall champion nation.

After a meticulous selection process, Sri Lanka was awarded the highest points to be eligible for flight support, as well as allowances for food and stay. The IESF will also be sponsoring national federation’s athlete flights for 22 nations for team titles and 31 nations for individual titles, as well as food and stay for select nations.

Raveen Wijayatilake, President of the Sri Lanka Esports Association will be accompanying the esport athletes as the Sri Lankan representative for both the IESF General Meetings and the Global Esports Executive Summit happening in Busan, Korea.

MAS Twinery joins the Sri Lankan Esports movement by coming onboard as the main sponsor of the national Esports team taking part in the World Championships. Twinery is the source of innovations for MAS which is one of the largest apparel manufacturers in South Asia.

Red Bull who has continued to supported the culture of Esports in Sri Lanka during the recent years is the official Energy Drink for the team.

Stay tuned to Gamer.LK for the latest updates from Sri Lanka’s journey at the Esports World Championship.

• Xiphos eSports
• PhoeniX Gaming
• Noob Alliance
• Maximum eSports
• Tech Morph Gaming
• WolfGang eSports
• Evox eSports
• Division eSports
• Death Pact

Consisting of 6 Dota 2 players per clan, the tournament will host 54 players. Split into 6 groups, the group stages of the tournament will be played in the single elimination format, but there’s a twist. 2 groups will have only 8 players. Based on a social media poll, two players will earn a slot in the final bracket, depending on their popularity. The 52 other players will have to duke it out in the group stage and the winner of each group will advance into the final bracket. The final 8 will play in the single elimination format as well

• 1 x Gamdias gaming chair
• 1 x HyperX Elite Gaming Keyboard
• 1 x HyperX Pulsefire Surge Gaming Mouse
• 1 x HyperX Cloud Alpha Gaming Headset

Second place –

• 1 x Gamdias gaming chair
• 1 x HyperX Pulsefire Surge Gaming Mouse

Third place –

• 1 x Gamdias gaming chair

On the 29th of November, SLT hosted the first iteration of the “ SLT Esports Lobby Challenge “.
The first Esports event for the 4th quarter of the gaming year, the SLT Esports Lobby Challenge gave teams the chance to benchmark themselves before the main and final events for the year.
The SLT Esports Lobby Challenge featured 3 different gaming titles, DOTA 2, FIFA 18 and Clash Royale, with DOTA 2 being the only multiplayer battle arena event. The DOTA 2 bracket was played in two formats, with an online qualifier and a LAN event from the semi-finals onwards.
Clash Royale and FIFA 18 had multiple qualifiers before the final bracket.

Here’s a recap of the event

The only mobile title at the tournament, Clash Royale saw a small, but talented group of competitors for its final ranked bracket. With 6 out of the 8 competitors split even between Phoenix GaminG and Noob Alliance, it was more of a question of which clan would walk away with the winnings. Heavily present in round 2, it was clear that the crown was likely to fall into nA’s lap, especially with the former titleholder, nA.Daniel competing. However, PnX-Parthifan and PnX-G4M3R_N4JEE8 weren’t out just yet. In a surprising upset, nA.Daniel suffered a crushing defeat against nA-Angmar.  Playing two close games against nA-Loch and nA-rN’b respectively, PnX won one game and lost one, with PnX-Parthifan defeating nA-Loch 2 points to 1. PnX’s hopes lied with PnX-Parthifan, with the 3 other semifinalists all from nA. While PnX-Parthifan put up a good fight, he was executed by nA-Angmar, 2 points to 0. On the other side of the semifinals, nA-Hanif swiftly disposed his clanmate nA-rN’b 2 points to 0. Knocked down to the bronze match, PnX-Parthifan outplayed nA-rN’b and won 3rd place, 2 points to 0. With both competitors from nA, the final match was theirs as predicted. Duking it out to a score of 3 points to 2, nA-Hanif pulled off a close win against nA-Angmar.

FIFA 2018 had the amusing draw at the SLT Esports Lobby Challenge, mainly due to the fact that roughly 50% of the competitors in the final bracket were from one single clan, Phoenix GaminG. Having the numbers advantage, Phoenix GaminG went on to dominate Round 1, with nA-VeNoM and M.eS-Pro being the only two players not from PnX to qualify for the second round. In an interesting turn of events, the duo faced off in Round 2 to play a close match, with nA-VeNoM winning 2 points to 1. With 3 competitors from PnX, the odds were stacked against the nA-VeNoM, facing off against PnX-Faz in the semifinals. Winning by a landslide, PnX-Faz defeated nA-VeNoM 5 points to 1 and advanced to the finals against, PnX-Dishi – who defeated PnX-SHARPSHOOT3R 4 points to 2. Knocked down to the bronze match, nA-VeNoM went on to duke it out with PnX-SHARPSHOOT3R and lost against a score of 8 points to 4. With all 3 top places under their belt, the finals were in Phoenix GaminG’s hands. A nail-biter of a match, the finals played into PnX-Faz’s favor, defeating PnX-Dishi 1 to 0.

The star title of the SLT Esports Lobby Challenge, DotA saw the most number of competitors.
With 28 teams and 140 competitors, DotA 2 had a colossal display of hero picks, item builds and playstyles. After 20 matches and 2 rounds, round 3 was down to be played between 8 teams.
Xiphos Esports, Division Esports, Noob Alliance, Phoenix GaminG and Tech Morph were the clans skillful enough to make it to the top 8. Playing tactfully and seizing every opportunity, x3-Victorious Secret, nA-team tempest, Div-Death Sentence, and nA-BedTime SamuraiS defeated their opponents and made it to the semifinals.

With one Noob Alliance team per semifinal match, was the crown going to nA? The first match, nA-BedTime SamuraiS vs x3-Victorious Secret. started off clearly in nA’s favor, with the early game clearly in their favor. However, x3 managed to turtle through the early game. Unable to capitalize the advantage they had, nA got punished heavily in the mid to late game by x3 and lost. As for the second match, nA-team tempest vs Div-Death Sentence, the game started with Div punishing nA in the top lane – nA’s safe lane. Unable to secure the need farm and most importantly contain Div’s Alchemist, nA swiftly fell to Div. Matched up against each other in the bronze match, nA-BedTime SamuraiS played in their comfort zone running an Anti Mage against nA-team tempest. Unable to zone out the enemy safe lane or out farm them, nA-team tempest fell to the wrath of nA-BedTime SamuraiS ‘s heavily farmed Antimage.

Matching up against each other, x3-Victorious Secret. and Div-Death Sentence were the last two teams left standing, a Best of 3 finals. Dominating the early and midgame marks, the game was easily within Div’s palm. Overconfident and complacent, Div dragged the game instead of going for the enemy’s ancient, making critical mistakes and giving x3 the opportunity to make a comeback into the game. Playing an impressive Invoker and Monkey King, x3-Victorious Secret. crushed Div-Death Sentence in the first game by capitalizing the late game. Learning from their mistakes and dominating the game just with their draft by playing a heavily farmed Phantom Assassin and Wraith King, Div-Death Sentence managed to crit their way to a swift victory and evened the score to 1 point to 1 against x3-Victorious Secret.. The tie-breaking and deciding game for the crown, game 3 was intense. Roaming lanes and not letting the enemy farm, the Tusk played by x3 zoned out the Div supports. In the mid lane, however, Div’s Viper was zoning out the x3 Tinker and delaying his boots of travel. As for the top lane, x3 shutdown Div’s Monkey King and starved him of farm. With an exchange of power In different lanes and matching up in terms of farm, both teams were neck and neck, but Div pretty much had the early game lead. But by making critical mistakes like not having a gem, not containing both the Tinker and Luna or not shutting down the Silencer who was stealing copious amounts of Int, Div gave x3 space and the opportunity to turtle on and make an easy comeback. Making use of the space they were given, x3 was merciless, felling Div to their knees and taking the crown for DotA 2.

With a wide range of talented clans taking part, the SLT Esports Lobby Challenge was just a taste of what’s to come for the major events for the year.
Will the same teams who emerged triumphantly do it again?
Or will other teams use the time they have left to study and outplay the champions?
Stay tuned.

Coming from Peradeniya, Kandy, Amruth “Amypie“ Alfred represented Sri Lanka in Starcraft 2 at the Asian Games 2018 and is an Esport athlete. Amruth is also an alumnus of Gateway College Kandy, and is currently following an MPhil in Astrophysics at the University of Hong Kong, where he completed his BSc in Physics and Astronomy with Second Upper Honours.

This is Amruth’s story of his Esports journey.

While Amruth does hail from Kandy, he briefly lived in India during his childhood as his father was undertaking his Postgraduate research. It was during this period that he discovered PC gaming.

While meddling with his father’s PhD desktop, a Pentium 1 running Windows 95, he stumbled upon a copy of Need for Speed 2. Awed by the exotic cars, the driving experience, and the foreign roads, He was instantly hooked and thus opened the gate to PC gaming. Quickly turning into a fully-fledged, after-school past time, Amruth was discovering all sorts of games to indulge in.

With Pokémon becoming a mainstream series in Asia, he soon installed a Gameboy emulator and spent countless hours catching and training all sorts of Pokémon he says. Upon being introduced to the Age of Empire series, he soon realized how much more he enjoys games that required real-time strategy and developed a taste for games that had a competitive component to them.

While most parents would discourage their children from spending too much time in front of the computer, Amruth’s parents were more supportive of his gaming habits. Striking a good balance between gaming and his studies, he managed to stay at the top of his class and score well consistently. His parents even went as far to gift him a personal Pentium 4 PC to keep up with the current gaming generation. He was however, met with criticism from his extended family and schoolmates who had bought into the stereotype that gaming is a waste of time.

Fast forward to 2007 and Amruth got his first taste of online multiplayer gaming. Only 12 at the time, he was introduced to Call of Duty 4 by his school friends and soon started prioritizing the game above other games due to its competitive nature. Being a frequent player and fiercely competitive on the public servers, he soon began making a name for himself under the moniker “Thunder “.

He hilariously adds that he has had moments with his parents where he tried to explain to them that he can’t pause a match during dinner time. Catching the eyes of competitive COD4 players, he was approached by [DC] Grim and was flat out asked to join his team DC.XD on the public servers all chat. Recruited by Death Company, he soon began his ascent in competitive Esports. With frequent team practices, Leagues by Gamer.LK and scrims with other teams, Thunder began picking up more experience and started to shine as the prodigy of the team. With their new found chemistry, he would soon begin frequenting LAN events with the team in Kandy. Being the 12 year old kid on the team, “Thunder” was frequently babysat by his team mate Aasaf Samoo.

“He used to come to my house, pick me up and take me to the café!

I was like a little boy and he was like my uncle! “.

As the team began steadily rising in the COD4 community, DC.XD made its way to their first SLCG in 2009. The team progressed well into the tournament and won games that many thought they would lose, with Thunder being the MVP and carrying his team to victory. While the favourites “Team Perks” did go onto win that years SLCG, DC.XD placed high and it was quite a learning experience for Thunder. As the years went by, Thunder would frequent many tournaments with his team and would go onto win a good share of them. But, with O/L and A/L exams soon approaching, Amruth started paying more attention to his studies and took a break from competitive tournaments. As a throwback to the days he spent playing Need For Speed 2, Amruth has also held the title as the national champion for Trackmania, won season 3 of Gamer.LK’s Racing League and won the Need for Speed – Most Wanted Kandy leg in the past.

With 2014 being his last SLCG, Amruth would soon depart to the University of Hong Kong to start his undergraduate degree in Physics and Astronomy with a fully paid scholarship.

With course work taking precedence, competitive gaming was in the back seat.

But soon enough, he would find himself being sucked into playing a whole new game. Having played DotA, and COD4 reaching the end of its competitive status, Amruth started to casually pick up DotA 2. As DotA 2 progressed into an international phenomenon, Amruth found himself playing more and more competitive DotA 2 online, taking part in multiple Gamer.LK Leagues under the alias “Amypie“ and progressing well into the tournament standings.

“Thing about DotA 2 is that it’s constantly evolving, the meta keeps shifting. With routine patches and balance updates, Icefrog keeps the game fresh. Really makes it hard to not play the game“

Making a return to his First Person Shooter roots, Amruth also picked up and excelled at Overwatch.

Playing for x3.Evangelion, he and his team made it 3 matches into the tournament at this years Gamer.LK Overwatch League.

“ What I really like about Overwatch is the diversity of the game. While traditional FPS games are mostly about mechanical skill,

Overwatch rewards game sense, strategy and team work just as much “

Frequently seen playing Overwatch on battlenet, Amruth’s friend’s convinced him to try Starcraft 2.

Initially put off by the massive download size and no one to play it with, it was a calling for him to finally try a real-time strategy game with a multiplayer component.

“I really like 1 v 1 games, because it just depends on you. Your skill determines if you win or lose “

Steadily progressing with the game and watching pro twitch streams, Amruth climbed to the top of the Sri Lankan Starcraft 2 leaderboard within 2 months of picking up the game. Winning 2 weekend tournaments, he soon caught the attention of Gamer.LK and was chosen to represent Sri Lanka in the regional qualifiers of the Asian Games 2018. Having bested other players from the region, Amruth secured his spot at the Asian Games 2018. Making his way to Jakarta, Indonesia with his girlfriend to cheer him on, he was stoked.

He would go on to meet a swift defeat at the hands of Taiwan’s “Nice” who went on to win Silver, behind Korea’s “Maru” who won gold –  An experience of a lifetime for Amruth and just the beginning to a whole new journey.

“ Never expected that I’d represent Sri Lanka as its first Esports athlete and represent the South Asian region as well. It was just great to see Esports being recognised by the Olympic committee. Didn’t think we’d come this far, this fast. Was an absolute honour and privilege to be surrounded by gold medal athletes! I even managed to meet the God of Starcraft 2, Maru! “

As for future plans and being Sri Lanka’s first Esports athlete, Amruth plans to keep playing Starcraft 2 as preparation for the next Asian Games and play more competitive DotA 2 and Overwatch. He also intends on trying out League of Legends as the title was present at the Asian Games.