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SINGAPORE, Nov. 1, 2022 /PRNewswire/ -- HyperLive Entertainment held the HyperLive x NTUC-U Care Fund Charity Esports Festival at D'Marquee, Downtown East last Saturday on October 29, 2022. The full-day event drew over 500 attendees and raised over $80,000 through a combination of private and public donors, sponsors and Singapore Totalisator Board (TOTE Board) matching grant.
The event featured twelve local professional esports teams who competed in a series of exhibition matches in popular esports games Mobile Legends: Bang Bang (MLBB) and Valorant. Local celebrities Terence Cao, Vincent Ng and Zhang Yaodong from online venture Sibay Shiok hosted the event's opening while young artistes Estovan and Estian, as well as HyperLive Rising Star Challenge winner Sim Fang Huey and finalist The Coincidence Maker performed during the tournament intervals.
Mr Teo Chee Hean, Senior Minister and Coordinating Minister for National Security, during his opening speech for the charity esports festival
The charity esports festival was graced by Guest-of-Honour, Mr Teo Chee Hean, Senior Minister and Coordinating Minister for National Security, and Mr Zainal Sapari, Assistant Director-General and Director of NTUC Care and Share Department.
"We are grateful to HyperLive Entertainment for yet another unique fundraising initiative to raise funds for U Care Fund. This is also the first of such an event combining esports and charity together - It is heartening to see all the youths gathered for a meaningful cause while doing something they love. We look forward to the continued partnership with HyperLive Entertainment, where we can continue to better the welfare of our lower-income workers and their families," said Mr Zainal Sapari.
Team EVIL (pictured in red) playing against eventual champions Slate Esports in a game of Mobile Legends: Bang Bang
Slate Esports eventually became the MLBB champion while Scissors Rex and Blitz Zen won the male and female categories for Valorant respectively.
HyperLive CEO Dr. Sean Wong said after the event, "By engaging the youths in both esports and charity, we aim to empower and instill good life values in these young individuals as they do their part to help others in need. We are thankful to have the strong support of Nova Esports and various Singapore's esports communities, making this inaugural charity esports event a great success. Esports is a fast-growing industry that will be integral to our future economy, thus we hope to play a big part in shaping the esports landscape in Singapore."
HyperLive CEO Sean Wong (Middle left) and FTAG Financial Group Managing Partner Ronald Wong (Middle right) posing with Valorant female teams Blitz Zen (on left) and LX (on right)
HyperLive had announced in the previous week that it had acquired the international division of Nova Esports, an eight-time world champion across multiple mobile esports titles. The division will be rebranded as Nova Hyper Esports and aims to attract and nurture top esports talents from the region to compete on the world stage. This will grow Singapore's esports industry and establish the island nation as a dominant force in the esports arena.
Chairman and owner of Nova Esports, Mr Cheng Ting Kong was present at the event and said, "It was wonderful to see that Singapore has a vibrant esports community that is passionate and dedicated to help those in need. I am very confident that Nova Hyper Esports will soon challenge for major honours and carry on the proud tradition of Nova Esports." Notable China-based Nova Esports players such as Paraboy, Frozen, Long and Y1ze, also took time out to wish the charity event well in the form of recorded video messages played during the festival.
Since its launch in August 2021, IMDA-licensed platform Hyperlive TV has been active in promoting charitable causes in Singapore through its SGLive initiative, which aims to help organizations pivot digitally through livestreaming. To-date, HyperLive has raised over $680,000 for various charities such as NTUC-U Care Fund, Singapore Children's Society, Musical Threatre Limited, Geylang East Home for the Aged, and Project Green Ribbon.
The fundraising campaign for NTUC-U Care Fund on Giving.sg runs till 27 Nov 2022. Interested donors may still contribute through the link below:
https://www.giving.sg/ucarefund/hyperliveesports
About HyperLive
HyperLive is a tech-enabled media and entertainment company specializing in esports talent management, production and distribution of interactive, entertaining media content to create brand value and digital intellectual properties. Its subsidiary Nova Hyper Esports owns and manages the international division of Nova Esports.
HyperLive.tv is a licensed niche television platform that combines music, entertainment and lifestyle events with highly interactive features that make for an exclusive and engaging viewing experience.
About NTUC-U Care Fund
The NTUC-U Care Fund was established in 2009 to consolidate the Labour Movement's fundraising efforts to better the welfare of lower-income union members and their families. Through the collective efforts of the NTUC-affiliated unions, association and social enterprises, together with management and tripartite partners, over $110 million has been disbursed since 2009 to help workers affected by the economic downturn and fund our assistance programmes. Since its inception, the NTUC-U Care Fund has strived to make a difference in the lives of its lower-income members and their families by helping them to lessen their financial burden.
