PUTRAJAYA: Being embroiled in controversy has not stopped BloodThirstyKings (BTK) player Michael "MobaZane" Cosgun from helping his team to victory in the Swiss stage of the Mobile Legends: Bang Bang (MLBB) M6 World Championship on Thursday.
The United States-based BTK defeated Turkiye's qualifier ULFHEDNAR 1-0 at the IOI Grand Exhibition and Convention Centre.
Earlier, Cosgun faced a backlash from Malaysia's MLBB community after he uploaded a post on his Instagram Story with the word "noob" above the Malaysian flag.
In gaming, "noob" is a derogatory term used to mock inexperienced players. Many felt that like he desecrated the Jalur Gemilang with the post.
"I didn't feel any pressure from the crowd, they weren't too bad. I thought it would be worse.
"I don't think about it (the flag controversy) too much, maybe Simon (Lim) does, I don't know," said the American in a post-match press conference on Thursday.
Simon, the co-founder of Selangor Red Giants, had highlighted Cosgun's post and called for the authorities to take action against the 23-year-old.
The Malaysian Esports Federation issued a statement demanding Cosgun apologise for his actions. Cosgun subsequently deleted the post and issued an apology.
The jungler said he had an opportunity to sample local cuisine before the Swiss stage started. "The food here is cheap, I would gain weight here. I went to the mall and there is a lot of different cuisine here.
"Malaysia is a pretty diverse country, it kinda feels like New York," Cosgun said.