A Malaysian e-sports star has teamed up with gamers from across the globe for an international tournament that is donating to charities fighting COVID-19.
Yeik “MidOne” Nai Zheng, a leading professional Dota 2 player for the Red Bull OG team, joined Pakistani, Macedonian, Danish and French-Lebanese teammates for the Gamers Without Borders tournament – a US$10 million charity esports season.
MidOne and OG reached the semi-finals of the Dota 2 event – a multiplayer online battle arena game – donating US$100k 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. Despite some brilliant sniper skills from MidOne throughout the game the OG were closed out 2-1 missing out narrowly on the final.
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, who only recently joined reigning Dota 2 world champions OG, 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,” added the gaming star who joined the OG team earlier this year.
