The E-sports Federation Cambodia (EFC) on Sunday announced a national e-sports team to represent Cambodia at the upcoming 32nd SEA Games 2023, which Cambodia will host in May.

Team ‘One Last Time’ won the National Champion for AK2 tournament on Sunday after going through four season tournaments in one year. The team will play against teams from other countries in the SEA Games.

The AK2 E-sport tournaments, which started on February 10, saw 16 teams compete for a championship title and to qualify to play in the SEA Games 2023, which Cambodia is hosting for the very first time in the Kingdom’s sports history.

Haingchor Chhun, 32, – more well known in the e-sports world as Sento – coach of Team One Last Time, told Kiripost that he has been engaged in e-sports since 2011 and has represented Cambodia six times at international e-sports tournaments overseas.

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“For the AK2 tournament, we have had a lot of experiences, and always reached the grand final stages in the previous international tournaments. So, I have a very high hope of winning this time, particularly as our country hosts the SEA Games,” Sento said.

Cambodia is hosting the SEA GAMES in May 2023, and e-sports will be also included in the tournaments. Kiripost via Sabay

“I think Malaysian and Thai teams will be the toughest teams we will confront,” he added.

According to Lun Samedy, EFC Secretary-General, the federation has cooperated with Sabay Digital Corporation to organize AK2 Online League. The first tournament began in January 2022 and was divided into four seasons of tournaments. The final tournament was the AK2 League Qualifier Round - Road to SEA Games 2023.

From Season 1 to Season 4, which culminated in the final tournament - AK2 League Qualifier Round - Road to SEA Games 2023, Samedy said it was one full year of searching for the National Champion for Team Match and Personal Mode Match.

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“The long process enables our E-Sports players to have the opportunity to fully train and strengthen their capacity. At the same time, we can select players with high performance to represent our country in the SEA Games 2023, in which Cambodia is the host country,” said Samedy.

Announcing Team One Last Time as a qualified national team for the SEA Games, Chy Sila, CEO of Sabay Digital Corporation and EFC’s Vice-President, said he is excited to see the National Champion team move a step closer to international and regional E-Sports tournaments.

Sila said E-Sport requires a mindful body, talent, tactic and some physical movement, and these criteria make E-sports a true competitive sporting activity for those truly gifted with incredible talent and commitment to hard work.

AK2 is one of the fastest-growing non-traditional sports, and E-sports has competed in the SEA Games in the last few years.

“I am proud that as a host country, Cambodia includes AK2 as one of the e-sport tournaments in the SEA Games. We have gone through many AK2 tournaments internationally, so I think it is the type of e-sports that we have the highest chances of winning medals,” Sila told the crowd of e-sporters and fans at a ceremony over the weekend.

“So, please train hard and do your best,” he added.

E-Sport was first introduced in the 30th SEA Games in the Philippines, and continued strong in the 31st SEA Games in Vietnam.

In Cambodia, AK2 (Attack Online 2), which is one of the most popular games in the Kingdom, was announced in the list of esports for the 32nd SEA Games.