So as we count down the final hours of our beloved 2012 for which we will fondly remember as the year the world didn’t end—again, lets recap the headlining moments in South East Asian eSports this year. 

 

The year began brightly with Malaysia and Brunei announcing early access betas into the quite recently released Counter Strike: Global Offensive, much to the delight of the trigger happy first person shooter in the named countries.  Helped on by avid competitive gaming proponents, eClub, Valve’s Cyber Café programme extended into gaming cafés far and wide which helped the rehashed CS title gain traction for what will later be a rather eventful year for the shooter.

 

In the months following, the next edition of the very popular Pinoy Gaming Festival (PGF) was announced for 2012.  To be held in CyberZone, Philippines, PGF 2012 was set to build on the massive hit that PGF 2011 was with gamers and critics alike by redelivering a gaming exposition experience like no other. Salivating to the tune of over P100,000 of cash prizes gamers, fans and spectators were all treated to a hearty dose of Starcraft 2, DotA and Counter Strike, among many others as both professionals and hopefuls pound away at each other for national superiority and recognition.

 

Not long after, massive bombshells were dropped by Rapture Gaming as we announced, in conjunction with our various local gaming counterparts, the inaugural The Game Expos (TGXs) for countries Thailand and Vietnam.  Bringing the total number of TGX events to four this year, the second half of the year looked to be the 6 months that competitive gamers in SEA have been dreaming about.

 

Elsewhere in Singapore, groundwork through the collaboration between some of the finest FIFA 13 players help lay a solid infrastructure for talent development and scouting in the widely popular soccer franchise by Electronic Arts. Appropriately named the FIFA Cup, this valiant movement coincided with the rapid rise of another immensely popular competitive title, The World of Tanks by Wargaming.

 

Having received honorary mention earlier on, eClub was back and packing some serious punch—and goodies too with the The Evolution series, a region wide DOTA 2 contest which saw the rise and fall of many great teams, as well as the solidification of power like that of Thai outfit Mith.Trust, who convincingly swept the competition aside to lay claim to top honors in the Thai iteration.

 

Then came the middle of the year as July dawned upon us all and more announcements were made.  The official roster of games to be played at the World Cyber Games finals, which was to be held in China, was announced by the organizing committee.  Spotting the usual favorites as well as some new faces, the lineup pleased the majority of the eSporting faithful despite the omission of Counter Strike Source and 1.6. Following that the Asian E-Sports Cup was announced for the Tokyo Game Show (TGS), the very first time a full-fledged regional competitive gaming event was arranged for the said event.

 

Crossing the midway point in the year, things really started looking up.  Making one of the strongest headlines of 2012, the Alienware 2012 Battlegrounds Asia Pacific took the competition to new heights with an impressive prize pool of over USD$30,000 with additional payouts totaling at USD$10,000 and USD$41,000 handed out to the victorious from the various national qualifiers.  Then came the behemoth that swallowed us all, Valve’s curtain raiser part two – The International DOTA 2 Championships. With 16 massively popular teams from all over the world duking it out for over USD1.6million it became one of the most followed and watched eSports events for the year and our SEA teams had much to cheers for as local teams such as Zenith and Orange Esports bowed out with respectable finishes.

 

The months following, September, October and November, saw the TGXs come and go.  Team Flash of Singapore, who’s rapid rise this year was the envy of many having secured the services of Revenant, AEON’s FIFA star, a new sponsorship deal, a DOTA 2 division and most recently Zenith’s leading lady (just yesterday) Tammy Furryfish, added the winners of TGX SG CS:GO, Team Dream[S]cape to their collection of extraordinary gentlemen and gentlewomen.

 

Still on the topic of expanding eSporting outfits, Thai powerhouse Neolution was another big winner this year as they revealed their Esports Stadium and academy.  Helped on by fellow professionals at Orange, this landmark achievement for the team does bode very well for the outlook and future of eSports in the region of South East Asia.

 

And finally, as we draw to yet another close, December pounced upon us like Rikimaru in waiting.  While the rest of the world was gripped with doomsday fear, we eSports enthusiasts wore our usual festive optimism as yet again the period of great competitions was upon us.  Starting with the SMM and the OneAsiaCup, things quickly transitioned over into TGX MY and The Asia. Once more we took to our feet in celebration of what gaming excellence our young little industry has transformed into.  Filling the packed corridors and sold out arenas though was the team from China, LGD whose play proved too inspired for anything in the other team’s arsenal.

 

So it was, another year drawing to a close.  While many will no doubt remember 2012 to be the year we survived the doomsday scare (if there ever was one), those looking back on the year through the lens of a gamer will have found plenty to cheer about – plenty of happy memories, heartbreaking moments, and gut wrenching epic battles and skirmishes that any proud fanatic of eSports would gleefully admit that yes, I was there, I watched that, and it was great.

 

2012 certainly outdid 2011 and so did 2011 on the previous, let’s hope the trend doesn’t buckle shall we.  And on that note, have yourself a very happy new year!