The two young gamers had helped their team, Rigel, to victory in
The Legends Circuit (TLC) Winter Singapore, a competition for the
multiplayer online game League of Legends.
The win in the competition held in December last year meant Rigel
would represent Singapore in the Garena Premier League (GPL) Spring
2016, a competition for teams in South-east Asia.
But despite being key members of the team, Kenneth Goh, 15, and
Timothy Lim, 16, could not compete in the GPL held in Kuala Lumpur
last month due to their age.
The competition, where six top teams across South-east Asia played
against each other, has a minimum age criteria of 17.
Kenneth, who was said to be the 'best player at the foot of this
circuit's league' and Timothy, who makes outstanding plays, had to
be replaced by members from a rival team from Singapore.
They were upset that they could not participate with their other
three team mates, after fighting so hard for a spot in the GPL.
Kenneth said: "I felt really depressed, because I wasn't able to
show how good I am on stage. I cried in my room.
"Because I'm still very young, there was no choice, I have to let
other people replace me."
The GPL is a stepping stone to teams wanting to compete in
international competitions, with the pinnacle being the World
Championships.
Rigel, without their two teenage players, finished fifth at the GPL
held in KL. Both youngsters felt the team could have done better if
they had been in the team.
Competing against veteran players who had more experience in TLC,
Rigel was not expecting to win.
Rigel's leader, Poongundran Ranganathan, said:
"Their absence definitely affected the team's performance
in GPL and it was difficult playing with two new
players."
He also mentioned that even after months of training with the two
new members, their playing styles were still different and affected
how they communicated with each other during the game.
Even though the two teens lost the opportunity to bring Rigel and
Singapore to victory, they knew that they are still young and have
many opportunities in the future to continue playing competitively
in this scene.
Timothy revealed that he looked up to Martin Lew, who replaced him
as a marksman for Rigel, and tried to make good use of this
situation.
"Sometimes it's good to take a break and watch the games from
another perspective," said Timothy.
However, both Kenneth and Timothy will be back with Rigel at the
Singapore TLC Summer 2016 on May 29.
Timothy, who would be turning 17 next year, is particularly looking
forward to help Rigel qualify for next year's GPL as he would be
able to take part then. But Kenneth would have to wait another year
before he can represent Rigel at the GPL.
Rigel, initially known as Corvus, was formed early last year and
won several competitions in Singapore such as the Garena
Novice Cup and Sitex 2015.
WHAT IS LEAGUE OF LEGENDS?
League of Legends is a multiplayer online battle arena game
developed by Riot Games in 2009. Players form teams of five,
working together to invade and destroy the enemy's base.
With 67 million people playing every month and 27 million playing
every day, it has grown to have over 20 competitions worldwide and
over eight competitions in Singapore.
The League of Legends' 2015 World Championship cash prize money of
over US$1 million (S$1.34 million) and Summoner's cup was won by
Korean team, SKTelecom T1.
TNP