In these crazy pandemic times we live in, we start to realise all we really have is each other. And now, Malaysian e-Sports star Yeik ‘MidOne’ Nai Zheng teamed up with gamers from across the globe for an international tournament donating to charities fighting Covid-19.
MidOne is a part of the professional DotA 2 team, Red Bull OG team, and joined Pakistani, Macedonian, Danish and French-Lebanese teammates for the Gamers Without Borders tournament – a US$10 million (~RM43,520,000) charity e-Sports season.
MidOne and OG reached the semi-finals of the Dota 2 event – a multiplayer online battle arena game – donating US$100k (~RM435,200) to the International Medical Corps charity.
The three-day tournament saw OG overcome Team Nigma in a thrilling set of quarter-finals with a 2-1 series win courtesy of a fantastic Naga Siren draft. The semi-finals saw OG match up against a strong Natus Vincere outfit from Ukraine. While MidOne held the fort with his sniper skills throughout the game, OG were closed out 2-1 to miss out the finals.
The final, which saw teams fighting for US$1.1m for Gamers Without Borders COVID-19 charities saw Team Secret overcome Natus Vincere. The overall Dota 2 tournament charity fun saw a total of US$1.5m donated for COVID-19 causes.
‘Gamers Without Borders’ has partnered with a range of global COVID-19 charities including UNICEF, International Medical Corps (IMC), GAVI The Vaccine Alliance, King Salman Humanitarian Aid and Relief Center (KSRelief) and Direct Relief.
MidOne, known for being one of the most skilled and consistent Dota 2 players in the world, was the first player from South East Asia to go above 8,000 MMR (the official Dota 2 ranking value) in the last two years. The gaming star recently joined reigning Dota 2 world champions OG, and was delighted to contribute to a worthy initiative and for the chance for competitive gaming from home.
“To come together from gamers across different parts of the world is fun during these difficult times,” said MidOne.
“To be able to help donate to the important charities fighting COVID-19 for my team feels good. I have missed competitive gaming, so it’s definitely lifted the boredom and given us and everyone watching from around the world some fun and entertainment.
“The world needs some positivity right now and gaming can help with that. It was a fun tournament. It’s definitely inspiring that everybody in the event is contributing to the world,” concluded MidOne.
