Professional Malaysian gamers made it into the history books last weekend when they placed 4th in The International, a Dota 2 tournament in the United States. Along with fame and glory in the gaming community and beyond, the team, called Fnatic, bagged a prize of USD1.4 million (RM5.6 million), the highest amount a Southeast Asian team has won since the tournament began in 2011.

The team consists of Malaysians Yeik Nai Zheng, Adam Erwann Shah, Chong Xin Khoo, Chai Yee Fung, and Filipino Djardel Jicko Mampusti. Fnatic were the underdogs going into the competition, but ended up defeating some top European and Asian teams to secure their top 4 spot.

Chai Yee Fung, who is regarded as the ‘Lee Chong Wei of Dota 2’, according to New Straits Time Online, also captained a Malaysian team in 2013 in the Orange Esports tournament to a 3rd place win, taking home a RM1.5 million  prize. It seems Chai Yee Fung, who is well known by his gaming handle ‘Mushi’, is a talented gamer with an impressive reputation.

For those who might not know, Dota 2 is an online multiplayer video games which involves two teams of five battling each other to attack the opposing team’s structure while defending their own. The game, the sequel of Defense of the Ancients, involves real-time strategy, team work, and coordination, and is massively popular in the gaming community.

The International is massive e-sport tournament that offers a total about USD 21 million (RM84 million) in prize money, with the champions taking home USD 9m (RM 36m). For comparison, Le Tour de France offers a total of USD2.5m in prize money – so the winner only gets USD 558,000 (RM2.24m) –  while the Badminton Super Series Masters Finals has a total pool of USD500,ooo, as reported by New Straits Times Online.

Tournaments like The International have begun to garner world wide attention, not just within the gaming community, leading e-sports on its way to becoming on par with traditional sports.

Featured image credit: fnatic.com