KUALA LUMPUR: Selangor Red Giants have now set their sights on the international stage after claiming their maiden Mobile Legends: Bang Bang Professional League (MPL) Malaysia title yesterday.
Red Giants defeated defending championships HomeBois 4-2 in an absorbing final at the MBSJ Stadium yesterday to claim the MPL Malaysia title (season 13).
Red Giants Esports chairman Simon Lim, said it was an "emotional" journey to the top. This was their third season in the domestic top flight.
"In our first season, I took a gamble by signing a coach who had never coached in MPL before, coach Veki (Pool Kok Sing)," said Simon yesterday.
"He was brave in the job interview and gave me the sense that this was the type of coach I wanted for the team. We did reasonably well to place in the top-six in our first season with an all-local lineup.
"For our second season, I said we should try to become title contenders and Veki said if we want to be contenders we need a better coach. Veki said he was willing to learn from the new coach.
"This is where coach Arcadia (Michael Angelo Bocado) came in as the head coach (with Veki as assistant). We finished third last season.
"This season, we went into serious mode and Arcadia suggested we revamped the team. So we brought in new players. It (gelling) was not easy as these new players all came from different backgrounds.
"Arcadia said give him two seasons before the boys' peak, but today (yesterday) they have already done so.
"Well done to the team, it has been a really emotional journey. The boys really dominated this season."
Red Giants did not drop a single game en route to topping the regular season standings.
Simon, however, said there is no time for the squad to relax as their focus now shifts to a number of upcoming international tournaments.
"The players will have one day to rest, then, it is back to work. By winning MPL, our season schedule is now packed as we will be competing in the Mid Season Cup (MSC), Snapdragon Pro Series as well as IESF World Championships.
"We want to focus on these international competitions, we do not want to embarrass Malaysia. We will not disappoint you all."
MSC, which is making its debut this year, will begin in Riyadh on June 28 while the Snapdragon Pro Series will run from July 28-Aug 4 in Jakarta.
The World Championships will also be held in Riyadh on Nov 11-19.