Deputy Secretary General of the Ministry of Youth and Sports, Puan Ramona binti Mohd Razali today launched the opening of the national esports hub called ESI Hub, at Spacerubix in Puchong. The project was initially announced back in February 2021 as part of Budget 2020’s allocation for esports development. Located strategically within Spacerubix, a popular youth hub for sports and community events in Puchong, ESI Hub patrons will be able to access the location easily as it is well connected via major highways, nearby LRT station, with ample parking space, and other public transportation.
Boasting a tournament hall and 13 fully-equipped gaming rooms convertible to training rooms or mini studios, ESI Hub is the go-to place for the local esports community to develop and sharpen their skills in the local esports industry. Athletes, professional players, teams, coaches, content creators and casual gamers will now have access to a tournament hall, multiple gaming rooms and state of the art gaming equipment. ESI Hub is now open for a trial period where the public can contact ESI to tour the hub's facilities and try out the gaming equipment. The hub will be officially open to the public in July and will offer a subsidised rate for 3 months, allowing all to take advantage of the facilities.
ESI Hub which is equipped with various gaming facilities can accommodate a capacity of approximately 200 visitors when full house in the tournament hall and all 12 gaming rooms. The rooms in this hub can also serve as training rooms or mini studios equipped with various gaming facilities including 11 Playstation consoles with a pair of controllers per unit and 22 Gaming PCs, suitable for various categories of games whether using consoles, mobile phones, or computers.
“The completion of ESI Hub is a great signal for the local esports development. Stakeholders now have access to state-of-the-art facilities offered at ESI Hub for their training program, talent search and competitions.” said Puan Ramona during the launch today. She further added, “The youths especially, can also participate in tournaments and programs conducted here such as ESI MasterClass and Malaysia Esports League 2022 (MEL22), to start in July.”
The idea for a national esports hub was first included in KBS’s Strategic Development for Esports Development 2020 - 2025, to reduce costs, set-up time and manpower requirements to enable medium-sized events to be held regularly. The hub will also serve other esports strategic initiatives by KBS through Majlis Sukan Negara (MSN) and ESI, such as the national esports league and championship, capacity building programmes and industry support for esports venues.
“ESI Hub will become the home for Malaysia’s esports and the focal point for local esports ecosystem, and this provides opportunities for companies and brands to collaborate and provide sponsorship. From direct engagement to co-organising mini tournaments, to brand activation, ESI Hub is suitable for brands who are seeking high impact engagement with the local esports community. We invite all within the esports ecosystem to include ESI Hub as part of their development and training programs,” said Ahmed Faris Amir, CEO of Esports Integrated (ESI).
After the launch of the hub, ESI will be announcing the second edition of the Malaysia Esports League (MEL22) and the national regulatory guidelines for the esports industry as part of ESI’s Phase 2 roadmap. More details can be found on ESI’s social media pages on Facebook, YouTube, Twitter, Instagram and TikTok.
