Unfortunately due to circumstances beyond my control and of course Week 7 (or as I personally like calling it, Hell Week) I was unable to secure a formal interview session with Culebre’s Captain Reuben Ng for Monash Cup. Nevertheless, much like the highly anticipated e-sport event of the year, we adapted to this challenge and decided to perform our interview over WhatsApp instead. 

We all know that last year’s e-sport tournament for the Monash Cup was held with some chaos and confusion mainly due to the unprecedented circumstances.

Therefore, as this year’s finale looms (19th September, don’t forget to tune in!) let’s take an insider look into what it’s like being a Captain during these trying times and their transition to an online format for the second time. 

Introduction

My name is Reuben Ng Wee Ming, and I’m in my last semester of Monash. I am currently majoring in Accounting and Marketing under Monash’s School of Business.

I got interested in the Captain position because this is my last year studying here and would love to make an impact before leaving Monash. At first, everybody thought that we could have physical sports and e-sports simultaneously.

But as the number of COVID cases in Malaysia increased especially during the first sem, I knew that physical sports is a no-go. It’s a blessing in disguise for me as the workload has decreased a bit since we would only need to focus on e-sports. However, I did not join any of the games because I’m not an avid e-sport player. 

Q: Can you give a brief overview of the games that will be streamed (for people who are not necessarily active in e-gaming)

So this year, C&S had a collaboration with IRL(streaming platform for gamers) and with other sponsors too. Culebre got lucky this year as we were able to secure a gold sponsor for Monash Cup Online 2021, which is InsightzClub.

We are very fortunate to have InsightzClub as our gold sponsor and the players would feel delighted the most as the cost for their jerseys would be absorbed so they can focus on their matches.

Q: How has the transition been from offline to online hosting of Monash Cup (management, streaming, student response, etc.)?

Personally, it feels much more relaxed compared to offline hosting but I would still need to be aware of the deadlines and take note of important messages in Whatsapp to keep me up to date.

I’m glad to have a competent team behind me through the course or planning which made things easier. However, there’ll always be some hiccups along the way but that’s okay since that’s how life is 😊.

Q: Following up on that, is the current execution of the Monash Cup meeting your expectations?

The current execution is much better compared to last year’s, since last year was the first time Monash Cup was held online. Hence, there were many unexpected challenges thrown to us and things started to get messy.

From my perspective, Monash Cup was much more well organized this year than last year.

Cheers to the organizers and the team and keep up the good work :) 

Q: How do you train your team members for each tournament considering everything takes place online? Is it a challenge?

We started to recruit players during the semester break, then we scouted for captains. From then on, we let the captains decide who will be in the team. Next, both the captains and players decided on a time to have training sessions.

This year, our ex-cos tried out something different by arranging scrimmage games for the teams by contacting esports players from other universities.

I would like to thank Mok, my handyman, the Vice(wise) captain for arranging the whole team and for promoting synergy among the members.

Q: In the future would you like to continue to implement an “E-Gaming Section” for Monash Cups when we transition back to physical campus?

Sure, why not.

I hope that next year’s Captain will continue to have physical and online sport at the same time, or maybe have physical sports in the first semester and e-sports for the second semester.

The inclusion of e-sports in Monash Cup practices inclusivity and more Culebrians can get to participate and enjoy Monash cup, be it physically or virtually.

Q: Describe you house in a few words

2017 to 2019 were our golden years, and we are just getting started.

Q: What are your top three online games and how did you get into it?

Tinder, tantan and bumble lol jk jk.

For me it would be Dota, League of Legends (LOL) and FIFA. I suck at gaming haha, I’m more into physical sports… 

Q: If Monash Cup was in-person what games would you be participating in?

Most likely basketball.

I’d like to thank Reuben for taking the time to correspond with me despite both our schedules and of course would like to wish Culebre the very best of luck for the finals! 

Article by Ashley Lim
Header by Angeline Ho