On the right side we had a variety of geek culture along with products showcased by sponsors, bringing about a festive feel to the hall. Stalls such as red dot geek,yamato one and many other vendors including food stalls for any refreshment needs. Without ignoring the fact that there was an extra stage on the right side of the hall for panels that showcased some amazing talent and successful pioneers in Sri Lanka including the cast from Koombiyo , a special appearance from Iraj himself and some rather unique beatboxing talent.

Red Bull was the Official Energy Drink for the event with Honda partnering up to be the
Motorbike Partner for the second consecutive year while also giving away a Honda Navi to
the winner of their mobile game Rider Rush at their stall. In addition, they also had a test ride
for visitors to try out the Navi bike at the expo. Razer was the official Gaming Gear partner
and gave away Rs. 100,000 in prizes to attendees. PlanMyNyt.com, Sri Lanka’s premier
Nightlife App gave away a Playstation 4 at the event. The event also welcomed the
partnership of Asus and Redline Technologies who provided high-end Gaming PCs and gave
away many prizes to participants. Blink International, distributors of G-Shock and Fila watches
in Sri Lanka joined as the official Time Keeper with great watch give aways at the event.
Sampath Bank was the Digital Banking Partner for the expo and holders of Sampath X-Set
cards were provided a discount on registration for SLCG. Rancrisp was the Snack partner and
WEBXPAY was the official Online Payments partner with Atom Media being the official Digital
Signage partner. MAS Holdings were the Silver Sponsors of the event with Subway as the
Healthy Food Partner, eWis as the IT Partner and Solitaire as the Agency Partner. Fox FM was
the Radio Partner while Art TV was the TV partner. Che Studio were the Portrait Partners for
photographs along with Leaf as the Print Partner, who came forward to print these

With tremendous effort, commitment and dedication coming from each cyber athlete towards their respective title the finalized results were as followed for SLCG 2017

Winners : Noob Alliance Phase 2.0

Runners Up : Tech Morph Team Envyus

Dota 2

Winner : Phoenix Gaming Indomitus

Runners up : Tech Morph Death Sentence

League of Legends

Winners : Phoenix Gaming Lanka Lions

Runners up : Xiphos eSports Legendary Noobs

Counter Strike Global Offensive

Winners : Zegg eSports

Runners up : Phoenix Gaming False Five

Overwatch

Winners : Noob Alliance Team Blackwatch

Runners up : Phoenix Gaming Team Syndicate

Special Force 2

WInners : Tech Morph Team EnvyUs

Runners up : Team Dark Knights

FIFA 17

Winner : Phoenix Gaming Android

Runner Up : Tech Morph Penaldo

Tekken 7

WInner : Noob Alliance Blazer

Runner Up : Phoenix Gaming GrimmJow

Injustice 2

Winner : Xiphos eSports Redwire

Runner Up : Xiphos eSports RassyCZar

Project cars

Winner : Xiphos eSports Bighorn

Runner up : Tech Morph Knight

Clash Royale

Winner : Hunter

Runner up : Noob Alliance Daniel

Street Fighter

Winner : Phoenix Gaming Phantom

Runner up : Tech Morph Rose

FIFA 18

Winner : Phoenix Gaming Westoxic

Runner up : Phoenix Gaming Heat

In addition these titles,  the women’s league was also an amazing feature of of SLCG 2017 which gave rise to growth in women cyber athletes, ranging from Mario Kart, Mortal Kombat XL and Need for Speed Mo0st Wanted. The champions of SLCG 2017 for womens league were as follows. 

Mario Kart

WiInner : Hima

Runner up : Phoenix Gaming Shifty

Mortal Kombat  XL

Winner : Jayani Gamage

Runner up : Phoenix Gaming TiaBuffy

Need For Speed Most Wanted

Winner : Himasha Perera

Runner up : Kavindee Kariyawasam

The winners are as follows.

Call of Duty 4 – Mohammed ‘TM Rocker’ Zaid

CSGO – Geeshan ‘Defiance’ Jeyaraj

DOTA 2 – Mirsab ‘PnX|Paradoxx’ Hassan

FIFA 17 – Ashen ‘TM Penaldo’ Katagoda

Mortal Kombat XL – Ishan ‘x3.Deadpool’ Nayanajith

Project Cars – Ryan ‘x3.LokDown’ Perera

League of Legends – Patrick ‘PnX|xzPat’ Philip

Call of Duty Advanced Warfare – Dinendra ‘PnX|Danaya’ Sandamal

Tekken – Abdul ‘PnX|AR’ Rahman

Overwatch – Hassy ‘x3.Syndrome’ Vinod

Best Clan of the Year – Phoenix Gaming

The increased number of titles gave birth to a much larger crowd and seeing is believing as Sri Lanka’s biggest eSport tournament came to a close. Taking with it once again the joy and excitement and surprise that it brought along with the finest eSports anyone can witness here in Sri Lanka

Inversion e-Sports gaming is a clan with immense talent and has shown a lot of growth in the eSports scene with over 20 members in their roster, so it was no surprise when they were recruited to the ranks of PnX from X3. Still a budding clan with plenty of room for growth, this clan has a lot of potential moving forward. With the movement from X3 to PnX this will allow Imex to grow even further and maybe help PnX secure a title in during the upcoming eSport Championships.

PnX is already Sri Lanka’s number 1 ranked clan and has dominated in a lot of titles but one: the Call Of Duty 4 title. With recent recruitments made with the intention to increase the talent in their wing for COD 4, as well as other titles by bringing in a young team of talented individuals from Inversion e-Sports Gaming lines up perfectly with what they were looking for. Speaking to a representative from Inversion this is what they had to say;

“Joining PnX was easy since the clan and its members were very welcoming, we felt that they believed in us and so our guys were really excited to take this opportunity to perform our level best towards the victory – Sameera F!R3 Warnasooriya – Founder Inversion e-Sports Gaming

Following this we have the list of players who have now joined the ranks of PnX

Sameera F!R3 Warnasooriya
Dinuka Physx Sewwanda
Deshan M!cky Dhananjaya
Chathura MANDUKA Sampath
Tharusha A l u m :> Lakshan
Nuwan 100k Dissanayaka
Sanka Shawty Rajapaksha
Amila Sasuke Thennakoon        
Binu Kawasaki Kapugama    
Tharindu Alive Gimhan    
Isuru Wax Mahesh    
Lalinda JointLP    Perera   
Dilan Tinker Godamunna    
Ashen EmPro    Ranaweera   
Shan BoTa Fidelius        
Migara Junior Sandun    
Mesanda Mo4 Maneth        
Tilan MeZZer Kavindu             
Hasitha Deathsoul Malinga            
Shane L|unatick WijethilakeNiluksha L3Nnox Dilshan        
Naveen Xax Udaynga

Niluksha L3Nnox    Dilshan        
Naveen Xax Udaynga

Speaking to an admin of PnX, he had nothing but positive thoughts and ideas in taking these cyber athletes  and giving them a shot at a place among the top players in the country

“For us at PnX it has never been about recruiting players for the sake of increasing our numbers, we saw something in Inversion e-sports gaming, their drive, their motivation towards the game meant a lot to us .When I first talked to F!R3 he shared a similar vision to ours,that is practicing day in and day out,and giving the game you love a hundred percent everytime you play. We believe in Inversion e-sports and we are excited to have them as a part of us.” -PnX Admin Javeen

We have reached out to Xiphos eSports for a statement in this regard and this article will be updated once we receive it.

PnX are currently your leaders in the Sri Lankan Clan rankings and with this acquisition of Inversion e-Sports gaming, will it further solidify their standing and give rise to new talent to help them remain at the top of the mountain? Let us know what you think in the comments below!

Noob Alliance who previously recruited “Ghost Warriors” into their ranks, continued their recruitment spree recruiting 10 players from Tech Morph across multiple titles, causing much uproar in the community. This series of recruitments  created quite the discussion and source for controversy in the community and with the information provided we hope to provide some clarity into how these decisions were reached by the players and bring you all sides of the story.

Team EnvyUs is one of the top Call of Duty 4 teams in the country and has been one since the team formed. Since its inception EnvyUS had always been a part of Tech Morph and one could call them their pride and joy. With esteemed veterans such as Harry “Distant” Manoharan and Mohamed “Rocker” Zaid having fought out numerous battles and coming out on top for quite a lot of titles in the Call Of Duty arena. Providing a small background into what EnvyUS has achieved.

1-GCWL 2016 Champions
2-GET NAILED 2016 Champions
3-SLCG 2016 COD4 Champions
4-GCWL 2017 Champions
5-SLCG 2017 SF2 Champions
6-SLCG 2017 COD4 Runners-up

Under the leadership of Harry “Distant” Manoharan, this team was a force to be reckoned with, having a squad of extremely experienced players such as Isuru ’Peace’ Abeykoon,
Ashen ’Sydn’ Malshan, Udara ’Kitty’ Neji and Imalsha ’Thunder’ Peiris who were a part of the team during these achievements. The shock of this high-profile team leaving the likes of Tech Morph to don the colors of Noob Alliance created a storm of accusations on social media with somewhat slanderous statements and harsh criticism being exchanged even by prominent individuals in the gaming community, leaving many to wonder what the truth behind all this was.

In order to find out the truth behind the accusations being made, including the players being offered various incentives (such as VGAs), we not only spoke to Harry ‘Distant’ Manoharan but also to a few other talented individuals who along with Harry moved into the ranks of Noob Alliance. Getting his thoughts on what actually happened and why he made the decision to move away from his long time home at Tech Morph, this is what Harry had to say:

“First of all the main reason why I joined nA was I needed a change in my environment . From my point of view the structure and the way things are being handled at n00b alliance is really professional. Also some of the best Call of Duty players are at nA whom I can play alongside. So these are the major reasons I joined nA. They didn’t offer us anything like VGAs or any physical material as such. Besides, if we by any chance chose to accept such other offers like some say, we might have been in some other clan by now. Ok. Now coming to why I left Tech Morph. Honestly to say I was bonded by heart to TM. The support from each and every member was the major reason I was able to win the COD4 title in 2016 and the SF2 title in 2017. Though many clans approached us to join them, I didn’t have the slightest idea of leaving Tech Morph. However things did change and I had to leave due to certain  reasons which cannot be pointed out here. We were lacking a player to fill a slot in our team, so when nA approached us I definitely knew I could get a good skilled and decent player for us. Also my teammates Lucifer and Nemesis are highly skilled players who with a little push could reach the top easily. So I had to make the tough decision and here we are starting our new journey at n00b Alliance.

I heartfully thank and wish Tech Morph the best of luck in the future.” – Harry “Distant” Manoharan

Following up with the recruitments we managed to speak to most of the individuals who shared their views on exactly why they moved from Tech Morph to Noob Alliance trying to shed some light on the reasoning behind their movements and clear the allegations made against them.

This time catching up with a famous figure and veteran FIFA player we spoke to Akeel “VeNoM” Ameerdeen sharing his thoughts on the decisions made by him and what he expects of himself and Noob Alliance moving forward.

“First off to clarify I didn’t have any kind of treatment in that sort where I was provided with any physical compensation from nA for leaving Tech Morph. As an individual player I think nA will give me the right guidance to excel more on the game and there are incredibly skilled players in this clan, with their support I think I can achieve my target. If you want reasons for why I left , here are a few.

1: Players in TM were less motivated to play and they do not put the effort to learn or become better at the game. With this kind of environment it’s very hard to maintain the mentality needed to win at the game rather than just participate.

2: I just needed a push to think outside the box in the long run and timely nA Admins approached me,only thing which refrained me from switching was the friends I acquired in TM, they’re almost like my brothers, I knew this was my only breakout way and I took my opportunity” – Akeel “VeNoM” Ameerdeen

Moving forward we caught up with representatives for both the League of Legends and CS:GO from Tech Morph who recently joined Noob Alliance along with Harry and Akeel.

The players had this to say regarding why they chose to move forward with Noob Alliance to achieve their future goals and whether Noob Alliance offered them anything for joining the clan.

“No, We made a decision to join nA of our own free will and we’re thrilled to be a part of Noob Alliance. If we want to climb up the ladder in CSGO I thought nA would be the best place to achieve that. Noob Alliance is a reputed clan in Sri Lanka and we wanted to join not only because of its reputation but also to achieve glory with their members TOGETHER.  – Thushara “Creed” Vimukthi

First of all No! nA did not provide us with any physical or virtual items, it was our own choice to join nA. The ONLY reason for us to move from TM to nA was there weren’t any League players who actually want to play serious and win a title.Our goal is to win a title for the team and the clan. I think the best place to achieve that goal is in nA. – Thevindue “Poison“ Ellepola from team ABCD

Following this ,we also spoke to some of the major clans, including Noob Alliance (who wanted to shed some light on the whole affair) in order to gauge the reaction of the community regarding the transfer.

“Hearing the news that 20 members from TM joining nA surprised me a bit, although the additions to nA are not guaranteed winners this year, they do have huge potential, so nA should be thrilled to have them on board but knowing the attitude and how dedicated TM admins are to their clan, I have this gut feeling that they will come back stronger than ever and we wish both the clans the best of luck.” – PnX Admin Javeen

“We prefer to refrain from commenting on this particular transfer as most of the gaming community saw how things were handled.” – Tech Morph Admin

“Noob Alliance is proud to announce the addition of Team Envyus and ABCD to our ranks. With this addition, we are looking forward to re-building our Counter Strike wing as well as making our League of Legends wing stronger than ever and solidifying our standing in the Call of Duty ranks. Having said that, there are many misconceptions as to what happened during the transfer. We have not offered the players any form of compensation for joining our organization or forced anyone to join, and we ask that the community respect the decision of all players involved.” – Noob Alliance Admin

This has been one recruitment that everyone has had their eyes on and maybe this information will shed some light on what truly transpired during the recent events. Will this be enough to help Noob Alliance dethrone PnX and reach the top? Will Tech Morph be able to rebuild their talent before the upcoming tournaments? How will this affect the outcome of the tournaments yet to come? We watch eagerly to see the results of these decisions play out against the other clans vying for the top position.

Breaking things down we saw 38 teams registered for Call Of Duty 4, 20 teams for Dota 2, 9 teams for League of Legends, 7 teams for Special Forces 2, 5 teams for Overwatch and 5 teams for CS:GO.

Previous years saw one team on its own dominating each individual bracket but this year with all the effort that had been put in, we saw almost all teams on equal footing.

Counter Strike: Global Offensive (CS:GO)CS:GO

Kicking things off with the CS:GO finals we saw the British  College of Applied Studies (BCAS) team OUTLAWS going up against the reigning champs from last year from the International College of Business and Technology (ICBT) Team HRBBM. With ICBT going in as the favourites once again everyone expected the outcome to be one-sided with ICBT dominating the finals as usual, but what we received was nothing short of the best CS:GO finals witnessed at a university event thus far, with BCAS actually taking map one which was Iinferno from the reigning champs which threw the

crowd into a spin. Having taken their opponents lightly, we saw ICBT pick up the pace and communication in game number 2 and 3 swinging things back into their favor to close out the final 2-1 crowning them the champions once again.

League of Legends

The next final was for League of Legends which saw Sri Lanka Institute of Information Technology (SLIIT) team Inters in the finals which came as no big surprise since their performances over the years have been stellar. Rising up to challenge the throne this time was Team EaGlE EyEz from the Java Institute for Advanced Technology. During the initial part of the games everything seemed to be even with no truly large advantage going over to any team. That was until SLIIIT’s carry started racking up the gold and items which changed the game in an almost forceful and brutal manner bringing things in favor of SLIIT and helping them hold on to their number 1 spot.

Women’s League

Shortly after the conclusion of the League finals the Women’s Lleague titles began.Taking on Need for Speed as the game of interest we saw some extremely talented individuals gearing up to take the number one spot for their university. From the University of Colombo School of Computing we saw Tikiri ‘Stardust’ Diasena and watched her unbeaten run during the upper bracket qualifiers which made it seem as if no one could match her. Even after losing to Stardust in the upper bracket finals Sureshi Zusy-Casper Siriwardena did not succumb to the pressure, clawing her way from the lower bracket and entering the grand finals once again to take on rival Stardust. Things started out the same until one specific hairpin turn gave Stardust a bit of trouble which was unusual of her. With nerves taking over the confidence displayed by Stardust we saw Zusy Casper take the lead and keep her composure allowing her to come out on top at the grand finals which was a major comeback story in itself.

Day 2 was filled with even more excitement and grandeur than Day 1. With some major titles still up for grabs any university at this point could have come out on top to claim the trophy.

With the Geek Avurudu Festival happening early in the morning and the games for Dota 2 as well as the first ever Overwatch tournament at the Inter University eSports Championship, things seemed to get heated pretty fast.

Overwatch

Every team that had taken part for Overwatch seemed to be on equal footing with each and every game coming down to the wire going 1:1 creating quite the tension in the air. That was until Team No SR from Sri Lanka Institute of Information Technology (SLIIT) took center stage. Showcasing their immense experience as well as talent, SLIIT blew the competition away and seemed to be on their way to claiming the first ever Overwatch title. That was until team CrackWatch from Asia Pacific Institute of Information Technology (APIIT) met them in the finals. The finals started out slowly with both teams showcasing a lot of talent and effort in the first map. APIIT with a lot of experience on their back were pulling together a lot of team plays which seemed to work for them in the initial standpoint of the game. That was until Team no SR found their stride and started dominating every single map be it the controlling of the point or pushing the payload they were on another level and seemed to close out the final without much stress going on to become the first ever Overwatch champions at the Inter University eSports Championship.

Special Force 2, a game that has been gaining popularity in the local gaming scene had taken a special place at the Inter University eSports championship. We saw team BCAS show a lot of maturity and patience coming into this year’s tournament and besting Tema APIIT in the finals with better aim, better teamwork as well as a better grasp over the objectives of the game.

Call Of Duty 4

Call Of Duty 4 which is always a crowd pulling title in any Sri Lankan eSports tournament once again did not disappoint as we saw 38 Call of Duty teams had already registered and were ready to go during the 1st and 2nd day of the Inter University eSports Championship. With many experienced teams already registered it was anyone’s guess as to who may come out on top during the games. As team by team got eliminated we were left with the 2 best teams at the Inter University level, the teams being General Sir John Kothalawala Defence University team Blank vs Sri Lanka Institute of Information Technology (SLIIT) team SLIIT ftw. It was an intense back and forth game with both teams on equal footing, there seemed to be no distinct winner. That was until SLIIT kicked it up one more gear and found their pace leaving nothing more for team KDU to say in response taking the title for Call of Duty 4.

DOTA 2

To close things out we had the DOTA 2 finals which was one of the most anticipated title matches during the tournament. With old rivals clashing heads we saw team APIIT’s DoyouhaveaDeathwish go up against Team NSBM’s BeaverBois. The tension was high as the first game dragged on for an hour and twenty minutes with everyone’s eyes glued to the giant LED screen. Plays were made by both teams besting each other at individual standpoint of the game until the Sniper on the side of NSBM overextended his positioning just a little too much, giving APIIT the opening they needed to close out game 1.

After a short break and both teams getting a better grasp of the opposing team, the second game showed no holds barred as NSBM came flying through the gates demolishing APIIT in the second game. It seemed as if NSBM had found the answer to take away the title from the two time reigning champs APIIT finishing the second game off in 26 mins.

Almost everyone expected NSBM with their dominant showing to finish things off in game number 3 but APIIT had not given up. With amazing initiation coming out from Shauban ‘Batman” Rushdi and amazing experience and leadership coming from Munthazir “ToadBoss” Shiraz in an 80 min blazer of a game, where there was no clear way to victory, APIIT overcame the hurdle. With some friendly trash- talking going a little overboard, the joyous moments of victory for APIIT seemed very well deserved but NSBM will be back with a vengeance.

Tekken

• Winner – Diyon Wijetunga from SLIIT
• Runner-up – Adil ur Rahman from IIT

Project Cars

• Winner – Angelo Tennakoon from University of Peradeniya
• Runner-up – Vihaga Ranasinghe from ESOFT

FIFA 18

• Winner – Rasim Naseer from APIIT
• Runner-up – Ijaz Mafahir from APIIT

Clash Royale

• Winner – Chamod Viduranga from University of Colombo
• Runner-up – Gayan Kaushalya from University of Colombo

Injustice 2

• Winner – Rashad Ameer
• Runner-up – Danuka Samarakoon

Sri Lanka’s Fastest eRacer is a brand new concept by Gamer.LK where eRacers from around the island are put in Racing Simulation settings.The racing setup includes  Red Bull Racing Seats, Racing wheels and pedals, Large screen TVs – 2 of each side by side.This concept is different from the usual eSports tournaments as we equip racers with near-real life scenarios with seats, wheels and pedals, and not keyboards. The featured game is Project Cars.The event was a Tryout session where racers are able to register for the main qualifiers through this system rather than having to use a traditional keyboard and mouse. It was definitely a sight to behold as individuals who had no issue taking on the road in real life had a much more challenging task when behind the wheels of this event. It was a sight to behold as challengers old and young took on this new and unique experience and some even making top spot for the Project cars with the real life setup and besting a few players on pc.

Revolutionary Gamers recruited by Maximum eSports

Revolutionary Gamers are a group of CS players competing together since the CS 1.6 era. Their latest achievement was reaching the semi-finals of the Sri Lanka Cyber Games ‘17 – Sri Lanka’s largest and most competitive eSports championship.

The team line-up is as follows:

• Musafer “Zippa” Muzin
• Muaath “Hotnews” Muzin
• Athahur “Hero” Rahman
• Gayan “Fallin” Hasanka
• Yohan “Maiya”
• Mufeed “Master” Muzin

In a recent  post on their facebook page Maximum e-Sports Announced that Revolutionary Gamers have now become part of the blue army.This has a lot of people buzzing with curiosity as to why they joined after remaining an independant team for so many years. We caught up with clan admins from Maximum e-Sports where they shared what their expectations for the team was:

As the clan admin, all I wish is to see our players get to maximum level at local and International standard tournaments. In order to achieve those myself and all the clan members are there to support them. So Good luck boys! Let’s make Maximum great again! -Shihan “Davy” Morais

For the past  3 years Maximum was silent and wasn’t able to participate or win any tournament. In 2017 we were only focusing on the COD4 title. But I can assure you that in future we will be participating in all the game titles and do our best for the clan – Mohamed “Dagaya” Aqeel

Team ZeGg ends their search for a new home with Xiphos eSports

Team ZeGg consists of a mix of pro-players with alot of experience. A self-made “national team” comprising of the best hand-picked players the team could find, with the common goal of representing Sri Lanka in the International scene.

ZeGg came out on top at the ROG Masters Sri Lanka Qualifier for CS:GO and represented the country in India.=They finished third, a proud moment for Sri Lankan eSports. SLCG 2017 is another title under their belt, finishing in the top spot with ease given the roster for their lineup being filled with immensely talented individuals. They also won the title at SLT eSports Championship 2017. Speaking to a representative from Xiphos e-Sports this is what they had to say:

As a clan we want to support them and let them play their game and give them the freedom to take their own initiative to achieve their own goals. Build something different with a unique style down the line coming from team ZeGg in the foreseeable future.

Catching up with the captain of team ZeGg Omal “Roach” Prabuddha, this is what he had to say regarding what made them choose Xiphos eSports after being an independent team since their inception:

As a standalone team our main goal was to represent Sri Lanka in the international arena. But all the dedicated players were in different clans and teams. because of that we formed a Standalone team and we went to achieve our main goal without joining any clan. And when we were forming the team we didn’t expect any help from anyone

When Sri Lankan clans saw our achievements, many clans invited us to join them. When many clans requested us to join their clans we felt for them it was getting another title to their side. But for us we had a different plan and a different vision.

What we wanted was not only to win SL tournaments, but also to represent Sri Lanka in other international tournaments.

But for us to go beyond Sri Lanka with our experience we figured we wanted more support from others and we wanted a clan who would support us for any decision we make as a team and who would give us the flexibility to work on our own goals rather than setting goals for us to win tournaments in Sri Lanka. So we approached Xiphos eSports to join them because we saw Xiphos eSports had different vision. 

Our main plan for the future with Xiphos eSports is to bring an international title to Sri Lanka. And other plans we like to reveal in due time. Like our FB page (https://www.facebook.com/ZeGgEsports ) and keep in touch with us, you will see and hear those soon. And we also want to build the path to the next generation who will take the baton from us.

And finally you can expect many Surprises from us in the future

The community wishes both teams and clans the best of luck in their journey together, and we look forward to bringing you more coverage and shed light on the local eSports scene.