The Mobile Legends: Bang Bang (MLBB) scene in Southeast Asia just got a lot more competitive, with the emergence of Team SMG (Still Moving Under Gunfire), owned by Singaporean Mandopop star JJ Lin.
The esports organisation recently announced its acquisition of Malaysian-based MLBB competitive team Makan Cendol in a press release earlier this week. Starting 29 February, Makan Cendol, under Team SMG’s banner, will participate in Season 5 of the Mobile Legends: Bang Bang Professional League (MPL).
To catch you up, the MPL is a prestigious competition within Southeast Asia, and has a variety of tournaments spanning the various countries. The SG/MY one, in particular, sees various teams across Singapore and Malaysia – including Team SMG – duking it out over a round-robin for six weeks, for a prize pool of over RM410,000 (S$135,700).
“I‘ve grown to love the MOBA genre ever since Dota was first released on the Warcraft 3 custom game platform. It has since fuelled my passion for esports,” said Lin in Team SMG’s press release. “By teaming up with [professional Dota 2 coach] Kenchi Yap in establishing Team SMG Southeast Asia, we are another step closer to our global vision for esports.”
The expansion in to MLBB is just one of JJ Lin’s many ventures into the esports industry. Being a passionate Dota 2 player himself, the 38-year-old singer-songwriter founded Team SMG back in 2017 with the intention of pursuing that avenue professionally. Since then, Team SMG has enjoyed success in the global stage, with its Taiwan-based team having emerged champion of the 2017 Arena of Valor World Championship.
Marion has a serious RPG addiction. Sometimes it bleeds into real life; he forgets to sleep because he thinks he has a Witcher’s body clock. Forgive him in advance if he suddenly blurts out terms such as “Mind Flayer” and “Magic Missile”, because never once does he stop thinking about his next Dungeons & Dragons game.
HSALS
Si Jia
Trinity Sun
