KUALA LUMPUR: Fans wanting to root for Team Malaysia at the World eSports Championships (WEC) in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, were left frustrated after the match was postponed without an explanation.
Indonesia beat Guam 2-0 in 21 minutes in the first match of the day at 11pm, Malaysian time.
Malaysia were scheduled to play the United States at 12am this morning, but the Mobile Legends: Bang Bang (MLBB) match was delayed by two hours before it got started.
However, the title screen for the live stream on the official YouTube channel suddenly came on, and the match timer indicated a 15-minute delay. But the timer kept increasing without any explanation as to what was causing the delay.
About two hours later, the commentators for the Malay language stream, Syed Fitri Abharshah "Sunfrost" Syed Nisranshah and Siti Nurizati "ReezPiuPiu" Jefree, informed the audience that Malaysia were leading the Americans 1-0, but the match has been postponed. No explanation was given.
This has led to fans venting their frustrations in the comments section.
One user said: "Disappointing. I waited for so long and nothing happened. Lucky I went to bed.
Another said: "Five hours and only one match? What a waste of time."
Another user said: "School-level tournaments are (organised) better than this."
The International eSports Federation (IESF) announced on its official Instagram page that the unplayed matches will be postponed to 1pm GMT (6pm Malaysian time).
"We apologise for any inconvenience this may cause to our dedicated fans who were looking forward to the matches.
"We promise to keep the ball rolling and bring you exciting matches ahead."
Team Malaysia comprise mainly players from Selangor Red Giants (SRG) and two from JP Niners.
SRG announced on their official Instagram page that technical issues caused the first game to be played without a live feed. "But Team Malaysia managed to win the first game."