Malaysian Hearthstone player, WKYew has won the country’s first e-sports Gold medal earlier today at SEA Games 2019, defeating Werit “Disdai” Popan from Thailand who was a favourite to win this event with a score of 3-1.

WKYew is one of the nine e-sports players representing four e-sports teams carrying Boost e-wallet’s banner this SEA Games. Mohd Khairil Abdullah, CEO of Boost shared that every Malaysian should be very excited and proud to receive news of this historic win especially in a debut event.

“On behalf of Boost, we wish WKYew a big congratulations on winning Malaysia’s first e-sports Gold medal at an Olympic-recognised multi-sport competition. This win is a historic moment for the e-sports universe in Malaysia, cementing e-sports as a mainstream competitive sport in the country and Southeast Asia and is proof that
Malaysia indeed does have incredible e-sports talent as well as immense potential to thrive.”

Malaysia’s Youth and Sports Minister, Syed Saddiq Syed Abdul Rahman even commented on the momentous win.

https://twitter.com/SyedSaddiq/status/1203902668411826176

When asked about his big win, WKYew said:

“I am very happy and proud that I am able to win the gold medal for our country. I was confident going into this match. When Disdai pulled back one win in the second round, I had to tweak my strategy slightly to keep my edge over him. I’m happy to walk away from this competition in first place and would like to thank Boost in supporting me prepare for this competition.”

Hopefully, this is the first of many medals Malaysia wins at the SEA Games this year. The best part of it all is that the winner, WKYew holds a Ph.D. in Electrical Engineering. Looks like I can have a career and be an e-Sports athlete after all Mom!