The SLT Esports Cafe Challenge, the latest Esports event series of the Sri Lanka Telecom Esports brand concluded successfully yesterday. It was an action-packed event filled with exciting encounters and thrilling performances from over 300 Esports athletes who took part. There were a few major upsets as well with veterans being overcome by underdogs. The event was a ranked tournament recognised by the Sri Lanka Esports Association.

Overwatch takes center stage with PnX Syndicate coming out as Champions

The event kicked off at 9 AM with Overwatch which took center stage at the event, with many exciting and nail-biting encounters showcasing intense rivalries. The online qualifiers took place across the past week with the LAN finals being played at the event.

Tech Morph Too Old For This, Xiphos Esports Nitro Zeus, Noob Alliance Black Watch, Noob Alliance Team Catalyst, Noob Alliance The Money Team and Phoenix Gaming Team Syndicate made it to the LAN final rounds where Xiphos Esports team Nitro Zeus came out with an amazing performance of grit and determination to make their way into the finals overcoming nA Blackwatch who were tapped to be the better team between the two.

PnX Syndicate became the Champions of Overwatch and walked away with a cash prize and the bragging rights of continuing their streak as the best Overwatch team in the country.

PnX Jura beat his opponents in style to become the Tekken Champion

Tekken 7 saw a lot of new faces coming into the battleground with a lot of talent being showcased across some exciting games filed with insane combos and counter plays. One noticeable battle was the match between PnX.Amaterasu and nA.Blazer where PnX Amaterasu coming out on top after facing some critical sidestepping and counterplay manoeuvres. PnX Jura and PnX Amaterasu faced off against each other in a thrilling final with both players displaying their skills but with Jura eventually coming out on top with a 3-1 victory.

FIFA 18 crown claimed by PnX Sharpshooter

FIFA 18 drew the largest number of registrations with many looking to take a shot at winning the coveted first place. TM.Penaldo and nA.VeNoM went head to head in the other semis where the matchup was more even in terms of skill but Penaldo eventually making it through to the finals to meet PnX Sharpshooter who had shown tremendous growth since his previous tournament.

The finals were one of the most intense encounters with both players giving it their all but PnX.Sharpshooter managing to beat TM Penaldo to become the FIFA 18 Champion.

Xiphos continues their domination in Injustice 2

Injustice 2 saw an exciting set of matches coming out with some skilled plays and nerves coming out from some of the highest tier of competitive Injustice 2 players in the country. Xiphos Esports continued their dominance in Injustice 2 with X3 Redwire and X3 Rassyczar dominating the proceedings and ended up facing each other in the finals where X3 Rassyczar came out on top with a 3-1 victory.

X3 JKLV cruised to victory in Project Cars

The hype behind Project Cars continued with many players taking up the challenge behind the wheel. nA Brainfreeze Olaa and X3 JKLV faced off each other in the finals. Both players showcased some commanding victories over their opponents. Olaa looked to be in control in the finals until JKLV kicked into overdrive in the last minute and took the lead to never look back and went all the way to secure the victory.

Noob Alliance takes control of Clash Royale securing the top 3 spots.

Moving onto the title for Clash Royale and Project Cars, which are usually dominated by the likes of Joel “Daniel” Joung from n00b Alliance,  proceeded to go per normal, as he dominated against teammate rN’b in the finals with his unique decks and patience, along with some newly acquired tricks from his experience at the Asian Games qualifiers. Securing his usual number 1 spot once again taking the title 2-0

All in all the event was a great success showcasing some of the best talent that Sri Lanka has to offer in terms of Esports. As is the case with most SLT events, the turnout was topped only by the level of skill displayed by the players themselves. Sri Lanka Telecom has continued to stay true to its commitment of taking Esports and the online gaming experience to the masses over the last few years and has played a major role in improving Esports by continuing to organize top-tier gaming tournaments in the country. With the main SLT championship still to be held, we can expect even greater competition and skills as teams and players polish their skills and prepare for the final event.

The FIFA 18 qualifier for the Asian Football Gaming Championship (AFGC) was held in Colombo recently with the interest of many participants from across the country. Ahmed “Shark” Shaakir from Noob Alliance got the better of every opponent he faced and became the lucky winner of the qualifier. He is now representing Sri Lanka at the AFGC – considered to be Asia’s biggest FIFA tournament, which kicks off from the 13th to the 15th of July in Singapore.

Organised by the Singapore Cybersports and Online Gaming Association (SCOGA), the AFGC will showcase a total of 24 players from across Asia who will also be vying for a piece of the $2500 prize pool (LKR 390,000 approx).

Shaakir has been one of the most prominent FIFA players in Sri Lanka with multiple tournament finals under his belt and has proven himself a force to be reckoned with, beating down multiple high tier opponents during the qualifiers where he came out on top in the 4th bracket and then went to beat some of the best players in Sri Lanka and earned rights as the best FIFA player in the country right now.

Catching up with Shaakir, this is what he had to say on his way to take on the competition in Singapore.

“I would like to thank my sponsors Asus and Red Line Gaming for giving me the opportunity to represent Sri Lanka at the AFGC. Also special thanks to Noob Alliance for creating a platform to connect some of the best gamers from all over Sri Lanka.

My expectation of this tournament would be some really tough head on battles with the best in Asia. As it is a debut for Sri Lanka at this tournament, it would be nothing short of excitement.

Coming from a competitive background of tennis, I would be comfortable making key decisions under pressure at match situations which might actually help me overcome my opponents at this tournament.”

We wish Shaakir the best of luck in his games as he faces some of the best FIFA professionals in the region.

Players from all around the country will come together at one location to fight it out for the number one spot and to prove that they have what it takes to win the prize and prestige of calling themselves Sri Lanka’s best FIFA 18 player. During the last Xstation Esports League we saw Dishan Nithrananthan come out on top as the champion for FIFA 18. Will he be able to repeat it once again or will a new contender claim the throne?

Mobitel, the leading Mobile Service Provider in Sri Lanka aims to introduce new technology to the youth of Sri Lanka and plans through such engaging events. In strategic partnership with Gamer.LK, they have entered a new chapter, venturing into the continuously evolving and improving world of eSports.

Register now at : http://bit.ly/xstationfifa

The Sri Lanka Telecom Esports Cafe Challenge, that will be held on the 14th of July 2018 at the Keero Gaming Cafe, will be the next installment in the many illustrious tournaments hosted and organized by SLT. The expectations for the event will be high, given the hype that’s always surrounding SLT Esports events following the SLT Esports Championship and the SLT Regional Championship that was  held in Kandy.

SLT’s introduction of SLT Esports Championship in 2015, became an instant success with the largest prize pool for an Esports tournament being on offer. With massive turnouts and exciting Esports action, SLT has continued to stay true to their commitment towards bringing Esports and the online gaming experience to the masses by continuously introducing new and innovative Esports experiences. SLT has once again initiated a new series of events that promises to fuel the enthusiasm of the local Esports community.

The first-ever SLT Esports Cafe Challenge will showcase; Overwatch, FIFA 18, Injustice 2, Tekken 7, Clash Royale and Project Cars as the official gaming titles. With a prize pool of 190,000+ awarded across all the gaming titles, there will be nothing short of the best taking part at the event to prove to themselves as well as to those watching that they have what it takes to bring the championship home. Overwatch will be broken down into 2 segments with the initial rounds kicking off online early next week and followed by the final rounds taking place at the event on the 14th.

Sri Lanka Telecom, featuring SLT Broadband, famous for its low latency, dedicated and reliable broadband connectivity which is compulsory for competitive gaming, has continued to organise top-tier gaming tournaments in the country, with intense and adrenaline filled excitement.

The SLT Esports Cafe Challenge will be a tournament to remember, a gauntlet of hard-core gamers, both individuals and clans, will take part in their events and go head to head in an exceptional test of skill and strategy, so we encourage all gamers to be at this event, as it will undoubtedly be an unforgettable experience.

For more information on this event, visit http://www.slt.lk/esports/

The RLG FIFA Championship 2018, held at the flagship Redline Technologies store on the 2nd of July alongside their strategic partner Gamer.LK, came to an exciting close with the winner earning himself the chance to represent Sri Lanka on an all-expenses paid trip to the Asian Football Gaming Championship (AFGC) 2018 in Singapore.

Proceedings kicked off early in the morning, with 96 registered cyber athletes who were ready to take on the challenge to represent their country as well as prove to everyone and themselves that they had what it took to be Sri Lanka’s best FIFA 18 player. The 96 participants were assigned to 6 groups consisting of 16 players each, where the top 2 athletes of each group moved forward into a final bracket containing the last 12 participants.

The 6 qualifiers saw some amazing and enthusiastic gameplay, where a lot of renowned players faced off. Most of the games came down to the wire in an amazing display of skill by the participants. The 12 cyber athletes that made their way to the final bracket were PnX.G, M-es.pro, PnX.Moin, TM.Sajadh, M-es Heatzer, TM.Sid, nA.Shark, PnX.Dishi, PnX.Sharpshooter, M-es.MhmdAfzl as well as PnX.Dumin and PnX.Costa.

With the qualifier out of the way, everyone’s high expectations for the final bracket were met with some breathtaking gameplay and exciting rivalries over the course of the final bracket. Fighting their way through to the semis, we saw PnX. Moin take on PnX. Dishi in the first semi-finals. The match seemed to be even, with both players scoring 2-2, until PnX. Moin pulled ahead, ending the game and taking the victory at 4-2 and advancing to the finals. In the second semi final we saw an old rivalry where nA. Shark took on PnX.Sharpshooter, which was one of the most anticipated matches of the entire tournament. It was an intense back and forth trade between both players coming into the final stretch of the game with a tied score of 3-3, but in a spectacular showing, nA.Shark clutched out the match with an amazing goal with space created from pass play to ensure the victory and snag a spot in the finals against PnX. Moin.

The finals was much more decisive than the previous matches of the bracket, with nA.Shark roaring out of the gates, taking an early lead over his counterpart Pnx.Moin, who tried his best to get back into the game, but the effort went to waste as nA.Shark ruthlessly pushed his lead, ending the game with a dominant 4-1 victory and earning himself the chance to represent Sri Lanka at the Asian Football Gaming Championship (AFGC) 2018 in Singapore.

The Asian Football Gaming Championship 2018 will be hosted from the 11th of July till the 15th of July in Singapore, where some of Asia’s most talented FIFA 18 players will gather with a shot to bring glory to their country. We congratulate nA.Shark on his achievement and wish him the best of luck for the upcoming challenges he will face in Singapore.