by Azman Khan | Feb 15, 2018 | News
We caught up for a cup of tea with the captain of the champion team from GCDL Season 11 last year, the man who requires no introduction for the years of success that he has celebrated as well as the vast experience and knowledge he possesses – Viren Dias or better known in the community as “Hawkie”, the captain of team “ Thé Kadé”
1. Are there new comers that are showing potential or do they have a long way to go?
Hawkie
Not sure if you can call Muntha (ToaDBosS) a “new comer”, but he’s like 19, has the right attitude and is definitely showing a lot of potential.
2. How were the preparations coming into this years GCDL?
Hawkie
To be honest, we haven’t prepared – it’s an online tournament with no prize money or any real reward. We’re just playing it for fun. But we have been solo queuing quite a bit and playing the occasional scrim.
3. Who do you think will be your biggest threat this year?
Hawkie
Our age old nemesis – Death Sentence. Looks like the old gang is back with Heshan “Sathan” Sanjaya rejoining them!
4. What clans have shown potential from your sector last year?
Hawkie
I honestly have no idea about clans. But if you’re talking about teams, there’s Victorious Secret and of course, Infinity Gaming.
5.Are there any new member who have joined your team since last year?
Hawkie
Well we have Munthasir “ToaDBosS” Shiraz joining us, as well as Awadh “Wado” Mansoor. Awadh did play SLT eSports championship with us last year though. We might have some more new faces in a few months.
6. Which hero do you think is currently the strongest in the meta since the patch change?
Hawkie
I think it’s a toss up between Lycan and Naga. It’s really hard to say though – hero picks have been really diverse in the last few years.
7. What was your favourite moment of last year?
Hawkie
Losing to Infinity Gaming at the Asus ROG Masters qualifier 
.
8.What can we expect from you guys this year?
Hawkie
Hopefully more wins. But I suppose time will tell.
9. What advice would you give the newer teams and players coming into this tournament as last years champions?
Hawkie
Don’t give walkovers, practice hard with the right mindset, and focus on your own mistakes instead of your teammates’.
10.What should Sri Lanka do to go international?
Hawkie
Many things. As players, quite a few Sri Lankans have the wrong mindset – they are more concerned about being a star rather than doing what’s necessary to help the team win. On top of that many of us tend to be lazy and try to take a shortcut to success rather than putting in the legwork and grinding our way to the top.
As a community, we need more money in the scene. It doesn’t matter what you do, if you can earn money whilst doing it, it becomes legitimate. As it stands, for anyone above 18, they are constantly told that DotA is a waste of time, and that can be very demotivating for players. If players could make a decent living playing DotA, then they can actually devote time and effort to practicing without risking a grim future.
11. Do you have any dreams of going to the international arena and is there anything that’s stopping you from doing so?
Hawkie
I think any player that has committed a substantial amount of time to the game has had dreams of going to the international arena, and I am no exception. However, I faced the same problems any Sri Lankan would – bad internet connections, frequent power outages, education, responsibilities, culture and parents.
But all of those can be overcome. The biggest problem we face is lack of money in the scene. Playing DotA at a high level is incredibly stressful. You absolutely cannot work a day job and play DotA competitively at the same time. The only way around that is to get some sort of sponsorship, which is essentially impossible in Sri Lanka. It’s amazing how local companies are willing to throw money at literally anything, but you ask for a measly 20k salary to play DotA competitively and suddenly that’s too much money.
12. What are your comments on Sri Lanka’s performance at ACER?
Hawkie
Well, we were informed of the tournament only three weeks in advance, and even then the dates weren’t confirmed, so a lot of our players from our main team had to drop out. We didn’t even have a qualifier for the tournament – the “qualifier” winner picture shown at the event’s intro video was of Thé Kadé winning the Acer Predator tournament that took place in April 2016, which was nearly two years ago. And not a single person in that picture was at the event.
Considering all that, our abysmal performance was predestined. The players that went just considered it a free holiday and didn’t really put much effort into it.
13. Where is Sri Lanka placed in terms of skill in South Asia?
Hawkie
If I’m being brutally honest – very low. Two to three years ago, we were one of the best teams in the region, but not anymore.
So there you have it an interview with none other than Viren “Hawkie” Dias. To enlighten you about his as well as his team’s great accomplishments:
Sri Lanka Cyber Games 2012 Winners
Sri Lanka Cyber Games 2013 Winners
Armageddon DOTA 2 Grand Slam Asia Qualifiers 2013 Winners
Gameladders Dota 2 League 2013 Winners
Gamer.LK Clans DOTA League 2013 Winners
GSM:Cataclysm eSports 2014 Winners
Gamer.LK Clans DOTA League 2014 Winners
GamerFest 2015 Winners
SLT e-Sports Championship 2015 Winners
Sri Lanka Cyber Games 2015 Winners
Gamer.LK Clans DOTA League 2016 Winners
RLG DOTA 2 Championship 2016 Winners
Conquer New Worlds DOTA 2 Championship 2016 Winners
Kings of LAN 2016 WInners
SLT e-Sports Championship 2016 Winners
Sri Lanka Cyber Games 2016 Winners
Gamer.LK Clans DOTA League 2017 Winners
SLT e-Sports Championship 2017 Winners
As impressive as their resumé appears to be will there emerge a team that would be able to dethrone them this year?
Let us know in the thread below!
![[Player Transfer] Thunder joins Phoenix GaminG](https://gamer.lk/wp-content/uploads/2018/03/kzY888D-675x675.jpg)
by Azman Khan | Feb 12, 2018 | News
We follow the move of Prathibhath ‘Thunder’ Imalsha Peiris from Tech Morph ‘Team Envy Us’ to PnX Gaming in a fashion that has taken the Sri Lankan Call Of Duty community by storm.
Thunder the man who has been at the top of Sri Lanka’s Call of Duty eSports tournaments since joining Maximum eSports in 2009/10 forged a path to the top in quick fashion, establishing himself as a top tier player. Thunder enjoyed stellar success during his stint at Maximum eSports, with the highlight being his teams SLCG Championship win in 2014. He joined Tech Morph Gaming in mid 2016 where he played in Team Envy Us for a period of one year. Thunder over the years has brought fear to more than just a few Call of Duty teams given the caliber of player that he is.
Keeping track of this year’s GCWL, the community noticed that Thunder had not registered under his current clan Tech Morph – this was a shock to most teams and players. Shortly thereafter an announcement (seen below) was made by Tech Morph Gaming in social media stating that he was “multi-clanning” which goes against local eSports rules and also against Tech Morph policies. The claim was that Thunder had joined Phoenix Gaming without giving notice to Tech Morph. This lead Tech Morph to relieve Thunder of his duties as a Call of Duty player for Team Envy Us. When contacted, Tech Morph Gaming had no comment to be shared in regards to the matter.
Phoenix Gaming having immense COD4 talent in their roster already, did not fail to find the needle in the haystack and grab the opportunity to officially invite “Thunder” into their ranks. Will this be enough to bring them the success in Call of Duty that they were missing for the last 11 years?
Catching up with Phoenix Gaming this is what they had to say regarding the situation as it is currently.
“Well Thunder is a veteran in the Lankan gaming scene and he has always been among the top tier teams for quite some while, having someone of Thunder’s caliber will of course help us to keep our dynasty stronger than ever.”
Getting in touch with a player from n00b Alliance this is what he had to say:
“Thunder was one of the best players back when I started playing COD 4 promod back in 2013. He was doing really well at Team Max winning two SLCG titles, but after team max disbanded he was not able to perform at the level he was capable of, though he joined TM he was not able to achieve as much as he did in team max. COD4 is a team game and it is really difficult for one person to carry a team. I don’t think it will make much of difference to COD4 rankings unless he gets a good team to play in PnX. Currently nA and TM are doing really well in COD4 scene and have the top teams under their wing.”
Can Thunder drive a COD4 wing that’ll bump n00b Alliance and Tech Morph off the top 5 ranks? Will COD4 thrive under Thunder’s leadership? Will a new team emerge to the top of this year’s rankings or will the changes not settle in too well with everyone? Only time will tell.
Tell us what you think in the thread below!
by Azman Khan | Jan 27, 2018 | News
We caught up with the two teams which reached the Grand Final of the first ever Special Force 2 ranked tournament and we asked them few questions about what’s running in their mind. This is what they had to say:
How did you start SF2?
PnX|AllStars__:
Our team started SF2 at SLCG ’17 which was held as a promotional title. We took part because our clan – Phoenix GaminG requested us to participate.
PnX|Mix Fruits:
Phoenix GaminG told me to make a team and try hard.
Why SF2 over other games?
PnX|AllStars__:
Except for CB, the remaining 4 in our team are all FPS players – either CS:GO or COD4. This was a reason for us continue this game since the mechanics of the game were familiar to us. Another important reason to play this game is because it is a ‘Ranked’ title now which means the competition is intense and we want to be on top of the rankings while contributing to our clan as well.
PnX|Mix Fruits:
League is my priority game, playing SF because it has some intriguing aspects no other game has.
How is the local competition?
PnX|AllStars__:
The competition is intense. Teams from n00b Alliance, Maximum e-Sports and Ghost Warriors e-Sports gave a good fight in this league. However, we think there are more teams out there who can make it more competitive including EnvyUs from Tech Morph (SLCG champions) who didn’t take part in this league.
PnX|Mix Fruits:
Local completion is good but the PnX teams didn’t have the toughest of games though.
Who is/are the best player/players in your team?
PnX|AllStars__:
The key to our victories depend on our teamwork, therefore we can’t select one person as the best. All 5 of us are the best in their own ways.
PnX|Mix Fruits:
Heat put a lot of dedication but his skill is not par with his dedication, skill wise Kassa AKA Erron Black would be the overall better player in most maps.
How has the league been?
PnX|AllStars__:
The league has been running smooth and on time. The referees were very cooperative and did a great job. We enjoyed this tournament and hope there will be more in the future.
PnX|Mix Fruits:
The league has been fun and it is a well-organized tournament by GLK. Hope for more of the same.
Are your opponents “worthwhile”?
PnX|AllStars__:
Honestly speaking we already faced them (Mix Fruits) in the Winner Bracket Semi Final and we just ran over them. We were expecting nA|Team Spite to be the finalist because we badly wanted to pay them back for knocking us out at SLCG ’17. Unfortunately, they were knocked out by Mix Fruits before they could reach the Finals.
PnX|Mix Fruits:
Yeah, they are pretty decent, everyone is try harding.
Who would you want to target the most in your opponent’s team?
PnX|AllStars__:
No doubt, it’s going to be HEAT. Hope he gets this message and be prepared.
PnX|Mix Fruits:
Chromnz because he is the most overrated player in their team.
Is your clan the strongest for the game? Will that remain?
PnX|AllStars__:
Both the finalists are from Phoenix GaminG, which means our clan is the strongest right now. Definitely, because both our teams are focusing and practicing the game continuously and there are more teams being formed. So, we are good in the long run.
PnX|Mix Fruits:
Our clan likes to do well in all games and try out new things, so let’s see how it goes. Pretty sure other clans also can do well.
What do you think a final between two teams of the same clan would mean for the future of SF2?
PnX|AllStars__:
I don’t think this is going to remain for long, because more better teams from other clans would be taking the spot. However, it is going to be a challenge for other clans to bring us down.
PnX|Mix Fruits:
It means that all other clans will try to send a team of theirs to play SF. So good for the competition.
Would you win?
PnX|AllStars__:
Definitely. We already won with them once. We know their strengths and weaknesses. We have some new strats which we have saved up for the Finals. We will be executing them and hoping to take all 3 matches out of the Bo5.
PnX|Mix Fruits:
We will give it all we got, the deserving team will always win.
There you have it. One could say these teams were being borderline “too” honest with their answers, but that’s what they had to say to the world! A lot of eyes on the former FIFA champion, PnX|Heat, who is also known to go from performing exceptionally well to horribly bad. AllStars__ boast a reputation of being known in CSGO while Mix Fruits are known for their strong COD4 skills. In another way, this is a testimony for which game has more skilled players.
The common ground of SF2 is set and the teams are ready! Which FPS game takes more skills? The grand finale will happening at 11.00 PM today (27th Saturday) will decide that so tune in to see how these kinsmen face each other off and trash their way to victory!
by Azman Khan | Oct 27, 2017 | News
For the second consecutive year, Gamer.LK, the country’s multi-genre video gaming community powered by digital entertainment enthusiasts, brought the thrill and excitement of eSports to Schools all across the country, with the Inter-School eSports Championship 2017 – Powered by Dialog Gaming. Gateway College defended the Championship title for the second consecutive year, battling it out with over 75 schools that took part in the championship which was held on the 30th of September and 01st of October 2017 at Trace-Expert City.
Giving students a chance to represent their School in eSports, registrations drew record numbers with students from national schools such as Royal College, D. S. Senanayake, Nalanda College, Isipatana College, Ananda College, Zahira College amongst them as well as participation from International Schools such as Gateway College, Lyceum International School, Colombo South International and many more that participated and were well-prepared to bring pride to their School in the field of eSports.
The Championship kicked off with matches being displayed on a giant screen at the venue as well as being live streamed by ThePapare.com for viewers at home. The action and thrill of the matches across 8 competitive titles were brought to life with live commentary by professional eSports commentators in the country.
After two days of intense, nail-biting, closely fought competition, Gateway College Colombo came out on top as Champions claiming the Championship with Royal College as Runners-up while Nalanda College & Zahira College came in at third place.
Over 75 schools took part at the Inter-School eSports Championship 2017.
In addition to the main competitive titles, Dialog Gaming featured ‘Special Force 2’, a new gaming title with a free-for-all contest open to all participants and visitors. The winning team walked away with 500 GB of data and 5 Dialog 4G routers.
A game development and design workshop was also held at the event in partnership with Unity Sri Lanka where Chathu Vishwajith (Organizer of Sri Lanka Unity Developers) and Subhashi Palika (Co-Organizer Sri Lanka Unity Developers and Game Developer at Motion Miracles) spoke of designing and developing games on Unity.
Play.lk – Sri Lanka’s first online store dedicated for gaming and geek products – from PC components, laptops, gaming gear, consoles, gadgets, pop culture toys and collectibles to a lot more, saw its launch at the event. Play.lk aims to serve and empower the gaming and geek communities in Sri Lanka.
The Inter-School eSports Championship 2017 was powered by Dialog Gaming and was supported by the Official Radio Partner Kiss FM, Travel Partner PickMe, Digital Media Partner ReadMe, Videography Partner Visaru and the Audio-Visual & Lighting Partner Elektro Revo.
For more information on the event please visit http://school.gamer.lk and follow Gamer.LK on Facebook at http://facebook.com/gamerlk for updates.
The successful completion of the Inter-School eSports Championship marked the final of the three major competitions held annually by Gamer.LK for universities, schools and companies. Up next in the calendar is Sri Lanka Cyber Games and Colombo Comic Expo which will be held within Play Expo – Sri Lanka’s first ever Digital Entertainment and IT exhibition, happening on the 8th, 9th and 10th of December 2017 at the Sri Lanka Exhibition and Convention Center (SLECC).
Gateway College Colombo became the Champions of the Inter-School eSports Championship 2017 for the second consecutive year.
The full winners list are as follows:
Call of Duty 4
Winner – Zahira College
Second Place – Hindu College
Third Place – Mahanama College
Counter Strike: Global Offensive
Winner – Gateway College Colombo
Second Place – Royal Institute
Third Place – Gateway College Colombo
DOTA 2
Winner – Nalanda College
Second Place – Piliyandala Central College
Third Place – Colombo South International
League of Legends
Winner – Royal College Colombo
Second Place – Gateway College Colombo
Third Place – Nalanda College
Overwatch
Winner – Royal College Colombo
Second Place – Gateway College Colombo
Third Place – Royal College Colombo
FIFA 17
Winner – Herschelle De Mel (Gateway College Colombo)
Second Place – Ahamed Marshad (Asoka Vidyalaya)
Third Place – Areeb Niyas (Gateway College Colombo)
Project Cars
Winner – Sachethana Liyanage (S.Thomas’ College – Mount Lavinia)
Second Place – Tharindu D. Rajapakshe (Nugawela Central College)
Third Place – Arkam Iqbal (Zahira College)
Clash Royale
Winner – Joel Joung (Colombo International School)
Second Place – Shashi Srinath (D.S. Senanayake College)
Third Place – Imantha Thakshar (Carey College)
by Azman Khan | Aug 14, 2017 | News
Mercantile eSports Championship returns for the 2nd time this year, a lot better and a lot bigger. With the inclusion of additional games into the list and upscale prices, the tournament kicked off early Saturday morning, 15th July 2017 at Trace Expert City, Maradana. Organized by Gamer.LK, the tournament was open for all corporations in Sri Lanka, entitling corporate employees to represent their organization across a number of team and individual titles to compete for an overall championship trophy.
LIST OF SPONSORS
- Powered by: Dialog Gaming
- Official Energy Drink: Red Bull
- Official Radio Partner: YESFM Sri Lanka’s No. 1 Hit Music Station
- Motorbike Partner: Honda
- Digital Media Partner: ReadMe
- Digital Promotions Partner: Promoter.lk
- AV & Lighting Partner: eleKtro revo
- Travel Partner: PickMe
A record of 60 corporates of Sri Lanka registered for the extravagant Mercantile eSports championship with the previous year’s overall champions, Virtusa, striving to be the best once more along with the remaining 59 corporates eyeing the same goal.
TITLES
- Project Cars – 1V1
- FIFA 17 – 1V1
- Mortal Kombat XL – 1V1
- DOTA 2 – 5V5
- Call of Duty Modern Warfare – 5v5: with a record of 34 teams taking part this year.
NEW INCLUSIONS:
- Counter Strike: Global Offensive – 7 teams and hell a lot of gruesome battles.
- League of Legends – with 4 teams taking part, the champions were crowned on the first day of the tournament.
- OverWatch – a small bracket of 3 teams in total, but intense, nail biting action each round.
- Clash Royale – From the creators of ‘Clash of Clans’ and another amazing mobile game. Clash Royale combines elements from collectible card games, tower defense, and multiplayer online battle arena. The first ever Clash Royale tournament kicked off at Mercantile 2017.
Every Multiplayer / Team game excluding OverWatch, kicked off on early Saturday morning. The action started of early with Call of Duty 4 and League of Legends matches not only taking the main attraction of the event but also being streamed live on a beautiful giant screen right behind the players. All these brilliant matches and the shout casting by the best shout casters of the country, was a sight to see.
MULTIPLAYER/TEAM TITLE STANDINGS
CALL OF DUTY 4– MODERN WARFARE
Winners: Team Huskies (Virtusa)
2nd Place: Team Oxygen (Dialog)
3rd Place: Team A (WSO2)
COUNTERSTRIKE : GLOBAL OFFENSIVE
Winners: Team V (Virtusa)
2nd Place: Team CodeGen (CodeGen)
3rd Place: Team Watch Words (WSO2)
DOTA 2
Winners: Team Virtusa (Virtusa)
2nd Place: Team LSEG (LSEG)
3rd Place: DG |TheVigilKnights (Dialog)
LEAGUE OF LEGENDS
Winners: Team LPBP (HOUZNT)
2nd Place: Team Legions Feader (Pearson)
3rd Place: Team Invizible Wlkrz
OVERWATCH
Winners: Team RLG (RedLine Technologies)
2nd Place: Team OVERZONE (Zone 24×7)
3rd Place: Team MilleniumIT (LSEG)
SINGLE PLAYER TITLE STANDINGS
PROJECT CARS
Winners: Dimal Fernando (Victory Information)
2nd Place: Binura De Zoysa (ReadMe)
3rd Place: Sajith Rupasinghe (LSEG)
FIFA 17
Winners: Sadir Omer (SLT Services)
2nd Place: Afdhal Muvaffik (Srilankan Air Lines)
3rd Place: Janith Amaratunge (Xcendant)
MORTAL KOMBAT XL
Winners: Dulaj Gunawardene (Dockyard General Engineering Services)
2nd Place: Azeem Ahamed (LSEG)
3rd Place: Umashankar (GSS)
CLASH ROYALE
Winners: JayaLanka Tours
2nd Place: MAS Active
3rd Place: Pyxle
Virtusa playing insanely well and winning 3 titles out of 9 were the clear overall champions of Mercantile eSports Championship 2017. With the prizes and the medals given off to the winners, Mercantile eSports Championship came to a close. Stay tuned and get all your workmates and employees ready for Mercantile eSports Championship 2018!
Link: http://mercantile.gamer.lk/#results
