Indonesia to join World Cyber Games
The Jakarta Post, Jakarta
Seven Indonesian gamers will participate in the US$350,000 World Cyber Games in Seoul, South Korea, from Oct. 12 to Oct. 18.
Eddy Lim, the team manager, said on Wednesday the seven gamers going to Seoul were the winners of a national competition. They are Rony Harsono, Nurcahyanto Ari Wibowo, Vebbie, Cary Ticoalu, Ferdinand Putra, Varian Asihwardji and Dicky Sudiyono.
The qualifying matches for the national competition, involving about 2,000 participants in seven cities around Indonesia, started in July. The final was held at the Taman Anggrek Mall in Jakarta in early September.
This will be the fourth edition of the World Cyber Games, all held in Seoul. Next year's event will take place in the U.S.
Indonesia took part in last year's World Cyber Games, where it finished bottom in its four-country group behind Portugal, the Czech Republic and Singapore.
This year's event will contest six games: Warcraft, Starcraft, Counterstrike, Age of Mythology, Unreal Tournament and X-Box's Halo.
The Indonesians will only participate in three games. Rony will compete in the Warcraft competition, Nurcahyanto in Starcraft and the remaining five will compete in Counterstrike.
The gamers are scheduled to depart for South Korea on Oct. 11. They will be competing against gamers from 55 countries, including the U.S., Italy, South Korea, Japan, Singapore, Thailand, France, Britain, Russia, South Africa, Australia and Malaysia.
Eddy said that last month the Indonesian team defeated Malaysia in a warm-up for the World Cyber Games.
"Therefore, we are optimistic about our prospects this time around and we have set a target of finishing in the top 16," said Eddy, who is also the director of the Indonesian Gamer Association.
Counterstrike is currently one of the most popular multiplayer computer games in Indonesia and around the world.
The game, categorized as a first person game, allows gamers to simulate close combat using sophisticated firearms.Indonesia to join World Cyber Games