Sri Lanka Esports Athletes compete among the best at Global Esports Games

Esports athletes Mohammed Shihab Mohammed Rizan (left) and Malindra Perera (WarPenguin) (right) who represented Sri Lanka at the Global Esports Games 2021 playing e-Football 2022 and Street Fighter 5 respectively 

Sri Lankan Esports athletes raised our nation’s flag high at the inaugural Global Esports Games organised by the Global Esports Federation. The games began with Regional Qualifier Tournaments, followed by the World Finals in Singapore from 17 – 19 December 2021.

Sri Lanka Esports sent a national esports athlete squad of 13 players ensuring representation for each title at the games; which hosted Dota 2, e-Football 2022 and Street Fighter 5. 

Competing in the women's segment were Sri Lanka’s first National Women’s Dota 2 Team, Tikiri Diasena (Stardust),  Zahra Thajudeen (Nerd), Nardhya Grero (Prince$$), Semini Perera (JollyGood!), Jessica Devendra (Chansica) and Nadeeshani Jayasinghe (FoXy).

The National Men’s Dota 2 Team; Aarathanan Sivasubramaniam (Prince SL), Ravindu Sama Daniel (AB), Deloshaan Logeswaran (Matrix),  Matheesha Madhava, and Muksith Ajwath (Tenza Zengetsu) competed in the open segment of Dota 2.

Mohammed Shihab Mohammed Rizan and Malindra ‘WarPenguin’ Perera represented Sri Lanka in the solo games e-Football 2022 and Street Fighter 5 respectively.

Both Sri Lankan Dota 2 teams took part in the regional qualifiers wherein the men’s team competed against Brunei, Pakistan and Nepal. Sri Lanka’s Women’s Dota 2 team played their first international match ever in the regional qualifiers against Mongolia. Both teams played excellently but couldn’t move forward. 

Mohammed Shihab and Malindra Perera took part in the grand finals of the Global Esports Games 2021 in Singapore where both athletes built connections, attended esports forums and gathered experience for Sri Lankan esports. This was Mohammed Shihab’s second grand finals placement in 2021 following just a month after his run at the IESF World Championship.

On 17 December, the grand finals were launched. Mohammed Shihab was up against Slovakia and Syria in the group stage where after four nail-biting games, Syria moved forward. Malindra Perera faced Brunei, Pakistan and Nepal in the group stage and won against Brunei but faced losses against Pakistan and Nepal.

Backed by the strength of its main sponsor Dialog, Official Gaming Laptop partner Asus Republic of Gamers and strategic partner Gamer.LK, Sri Lanka Esports’ performance at the Global Esports Games 2021 is a significant step towards growth in international esports. 

As one of Sri Lanka's largest telecom service providers, Dialog is a foundation for the national esports ecosystem. Dialog’s gaming subsidiary ‘Dialog Gaming’, also focuses on cultivating the Sri Lankan gaming and esports environment through competitions and collaborations. 

ASUS Republic of Gamers brings a range of high-end gaming laptops to Sri Lanka’s gamers and their partnership ensures our team has access to the best gear to drive their sport. 

Gamer.LK has spearheaded the nation’s gaming scene for over 13 years and serves as Sri Lanka Esports’ direct connection to the national gaming community cultivating gamers from all levels.

Despite many setbacks, 2021 has been productive for Sri Lankan esports. With many international events on the horizon, including the Asian Games where a range of esports titles will be included as medal events, Sri Lanka Esports will continue to groom its athletes to carry our nation from strength to strength.