Thursday, December 4, 2008

Maybank2u Email Fraud





Recently i came across with an email regarding a fake Maybank2u link being circulated on the internet by asking users to log in with their username and password as well as the TAC. After users went to the fake website to key in their username and password, both of the data would be sent straight to the hackers where they would gain access to your account and "sapu" all your years of hard-earned savings.

Therefore, I would like to share with you guys on 3 simple ways to verify the authenticity of an email sent by big companies such as Maybank.

Based on the attached photos in this email:

1. Look at the Email Address
- The sender's email address is "add@slidevalidprocess.com" as you can see from the first photo. A big company like Maybank should have their own domain and server, which means if the email should be from the real Maybank staffs, the email address should end with "@maybank2u.com.my" and remember that COMPANIES will NEVER use free email services such as YAHOO, HOTMAIL or GMAIL.

2. Look at the URL (Website Address)
- The website as you can see is "http://www.2database-servers.com/Maybank-Online.htm" and most importantly is to look at the main domain name, which is "www.2database-servers.com". After the end of the domain name, people can put any names they like, in this case, it's "Maybank-Online.htm" where the culprits want to convince people to think that the website is really related to Maybank. So always look at the domain name to see if it's suspicious first. Currently the legitimate website for Maybank2u is "www.maybank2u.com.my", and no one else can use this domain name to cheat on people as it's already registered by Maybank.

3. Look at the Email Header
- Also from the first photo, you could see that the email started with "
Dear Valued Maybank Customer". If it was really an URGENT notification by Maybank, they would greet you by your FULL NAME and most probably Maybank would prefer to call you instead of sending you emails. Just remember that when important and confidential things such as asking for your personal information or changing passwords related to banking, credit cards or $$$, most of the emails are FRAUDS and the real companies will never risk by emailing such essential notifications to you (when they know not everyone knows how to use the Internet or check their emails frequently), instead they would just call you or send a letter straight to your doorstep.

Be smart and alert when using the Internet!

Sunday, September 28, 2008

World Gamemaster Tournament (WGT) 2008

WGT08 Msia: 31st October 2008 - 2nd November 2008.

The World Gamemaster Tournament is the final gaming tournament for all of the Malaysian gamers this year. For the top FIFA gamers, all of them will be focusing on FIFA09 after the tournament has ended. It would be a whole new level of intense researching and training again for the gamers on the new platform in order to prepare for the following year's big tourneys.

FIFA09: Official Release on 3rd October 2008.

So for myself personally, i would be hoping to win the title like everyone else. Especially after the awful and disappointing knockout from WCG08 which cost me a dream trip to Michael Ballack's home country for the Grand Finals, i vowed to myself to avoid eating 'heaty' foods! The 'Satay Celup' i had in Melaka a few days before WCG08 made me had a bad sore throat and flu during WCG08. It was a lesson for me for not repeating the silly mistakes again by swallowing 2 tablets of Panadol Cold & Flu (Drowsy) right before my last match of the day in which my brain was processing the frames slower than a turtle running and had no idea what i was playing. I would also pray and pray hard so that i won't fall sick again or being drawn in the group of death! After narrowly winning my 1st title in CELgames08, i want to try and get a DOUBLE titles this year!

Michael Ballack: Score a Double This Year!

Besides the gaming event itself, the organizer has decided to come up with the WGT08 Idol Gamer! Haha the first time such Idol competition to look for the prettiest gamer was held during WCG 2004, where i was lucky enough to receive enough votes to take the 2nd placing and got myself a Samsung HIFI which is still yet to be sold and still residing inside the box until now. Really curious to what are the prizes this time for the WGT08 Idol as ASUS is the main sponsor and seriously they aren't stingy in giving out their products. Hopefully they would be giving out their ROG mobos as the prizes or maybe an entire gaming PC! Hehe so while waiting for the event to arrive, log on to the site and register yourself to vote for me! The first 200 members who registered at the site will be receiving complimentary FREE movie tickets. Head over to WGT08 Idol Gamer Vote! and start voting for your favourite gamer! ([W|nDs] A13x!) =P

WCG04: Got 2nd for WCG 2004 Malaysia Idol! XD

Only those who had gone for the earlier WGT08 Gear Up Party were eligible to sign up and join the WGT08 Idol Gamer contest. Only 30 were shortlisted to be put up on the site for other people to vote. The pictures are kinda small on the site and i have no idea how people can judge and vote when small and blurry pics tend to make everyone looks pretty =S. Perhaps they are looking for the most interesting slogans but many didn't take a long time to write as not to look like you're so desperate to think of a LOL slogan to win a so-called pageant beauty contest for gamers. What gamers are hungry for are the CHAMPION mock check and prizes while being crowned the Best Gamer In Malaysia! XD

Friday, September 12, 2008

2008 [W|nDs] Intercafe FIFA08 Challenge

My FIFA clan, [W|nDs], which is currently the top FIFA clan in Malaysia has started to go bigger by turning ourselves from not only a gaming clan, but to a gaming event organizer as well. The clan has been registered as an event organizing company last month. Our first gaming event is the Intercafe FIFA08 Challenge which offers a lucrative Grand Prize to the champions!

[W|nDs] Crest.

The Intercafe FIFA08 Challenge is a FIFA08 only gaming competition. There will be preliminary rounds held in different cyber-cafes. There are 4 weekly preliminary rounds in each cyber-cafe and is limited to only 16 participants in each prelim. The champion of each week's prelim will be representing the cyber-cafe itself to play in the Grand Finals. Since there are 4 weekly prelims, there will be 4 weekly champions to represent the cyber-cafe as a team to compete against other cyber-cafe's teams in the Grand Finals.

The 2008 [W|nDs] Intercafe FIFA08 Challenge Poster.

There are two interesting things in this competition. The first is the Grand Prize. Although the champions from each prelim will receive only RM100 cash prize and some sponsored goodies, they also have the chance to play in the Grand Finals. The lucrative prize during the Grand Finals is a 4 Days 3 Nights Trip to Hong Kong Disneyland for all 4 gamers from the winning cyber-cafe team. Everything is fully sponsored! Instead of going there to represent Malaysia to play games again like WCG, this time it's a vacation trip for the winners.

Win A Fully-Sponsored Trip To HK Disneyland For 4 Days 3 Nights!

The second interesting thing will be no professional and experienced FIFA08 players are allowed to join the competition. The so-called professional FIFA08 gamers are clan members of Clan [W|nDs], Clan -MyFes- and Clan [ToRn@d0]. The gamers who got themselves into the Final 8 during recent CELgames08 and WCG08 are also not allowed to join. This is to attract and encourage more new and amateur FIFA08 gamers to play the game competitively. This also means everyone will has the chance to win.

The Usual Big Shots Will Not Be Allowed To Join.

The PRIZES are as follow:

Weekly Prelim Champions
Ticket To Grand Finals + RM100 + Sponsored Goodies

Grand Finals Champions (Team of 4)
Fully sponsored 4 Days 3 Nights trip to Hong Kong Disneyland + Sponsored Goodies

First Runner-Up (Team of 4)
RM1000 + Sponsored Goodies

Second Runner-Up (Team of 4)
RM500 + Sponsored Goodies


The PRELIMINARY ROUNDS will be held at the following participating cyber-cafes:

Cyber-Cafe 1: Autosurf Cheras
Dates: 13th, 20th, 27th & 28th September 2008
Time: 11am

Cyber-Cafe 2: Autosurf Subang
Dates: 13th, 20th, 27th & 28th September 2008
Time: 11am

*More cyber-cafes preliminary rounds will be announced later.

For those who are interested to try out your luck when the big shots are not around, contact Si_Jali (017-3020087/didotido@hotmail.com) or Leoninho (012-3990790). You can also visit the links below for more details.

Links:
Lowyat Forum
Multiplay
Facebook Event
Clan [W|nDs]
Clan -MyFes-
Clan [ToRn@d0]
M'sia WCG08 Results

Thursday, July 24, 2008

CELgames08 - Champion, Finally...

After winning the CELgames08 and finally being a champion after so long, i've decided to write about my life as a part-time professional or should i say, a competitive FIFA gamer. This might be an extra long essay about the experiences as a gamer, but it should be an interesting journey for me to read back in the future.

[W|nDs] A13x - "Impossible Is Nothing!"

The Start
It all started in 2003, when my long-time friend cum schoolmate, Lum Wai Fong and i spotted the WCG03 ad on a newspaper. We decided to participate just for fun since we were playing FIFA03 also that time. As a newbie, i did quite well by qualifying into the 2nd round but Wai Fong was knocked out in the 1st round. During the 2nd round, i was in the same group with the time's FIFA legend, Nigel Goh aka Gel who was undefeated in the 8-men round robin group stage. I was totally humiliated by his experience and skillful game-play. He was such a friendly person, giving me some advices while complimenting the hidden talent that i had after our games. Then, he proceeded to win the WCG03 Msia FIFA03 title. A year later, he formed Msia's first FIFA clan and proudly named it, [W|nDs] - Winning with an |rresistible, No-nonsense & Delightful Style. After playing my first competitive FIFA tourney, i didn't stop playing but instead i went for all the FIFA tourneys that were held in KL ever since. After knowing Nigel, he later introduced me to the other friendly clan members whom i got really well along with.

Nigel Goh (Left) & His Younger Brother, Francis Goh (Right) During EFC 2006.

Being A Part Of [W|nDs]
Only in 2006, Nigel offered me to join the clan, after seeing that i fulfilled most of the requirements, which were talent, good behaviours and commitments to join tourneys. That was also after i managed to fight myself into the Final 8 during WCG06 Msia but then i lost to [W|nDs] Si_jali, who just made Msia proud by achieving a 4th place in the WCG05 Grand Finals in Singapore and also winning the Asian WCG06. The CELgames06 was my 1st tourney as a [W|nDs] member, proudly achieving the 4th placing while losing to clan-mate LoOn4tiC. That was so close to getting my 1st Top 3 achievement! During WCG07, i achieved better achievements by finishing as one of the Final 6 while during the CGS07 Msia Qualifier, which was a professional gaming league that offers a USD30k contract to gamers held in Msia for the 1st time, i achieved a even better result by grabbing the 3rd spot. Unfortunately, the event was just to find 1 best gamer (for FIFA) to represent Msia to compete in the CGS Grand Finals, in which LoOn4tiC was picked as he won the event. There were actually no prizes for the Top 3 winners but Astro decided to only award the Champion RM500 and the 1st Runner-up RM250 as rewards but not to the 2nd Runner-up! Well, it seemed that God thought it wasn't time for me to win any prizes yet even though i finally won myself as 1 of the Top 3 in a tourney =(

[W|nDs] Final 4 During CGS07 Msia Qualifier.
From Left: A13x, Vin (Look At How Happy He Smiled!), Host Julie Hoi, LoOn4tiC & Leoninho.

The Time Has Come
After 5 years of experiences since my 1st competition, i have encountered and learned many useful things which money can't buy, from the intense nervousness while playing as an underdog to getting so close in being on the podium and winning prizes. The experiences surely made me a better gamer. I have told myself that this year might be my final year to play FIFA competitively as i will start entering the working world by next year. Fear of having insufficient time for training and competitions while working like a mad dog, i knew that i must achieve at least something this year, to make myself proud and not feeling wasted for all the time and money i've spent on traveling to KL for competitions. With a better me this year, i've managed to do very well in the 1st FIFA major tourney, the CGS08 Msia Qualifier. Sadly, CGS08 Msia Qualifier didn't have any sponsors and we had no idea to why Astro pulled out from the event this year. Thus, the qualifier was held in a cyber-cafe called FTZ in Subang with the previous year's officials and GM (General Manager) of Msia's CGS team, KL Taufan to monitor and look for the best players for this year. The format was just a simple round-robin group play consisting of only 14 players of [W|nDs] and our rival clan, -MyFes- members. The result was Si_jali at the top of the table while i was 2nd. That meant Si_jali was picked as KL Taufan's FIFA08 representative while i was the taxi player, in other words, a reserved player to replace Si_jali if he couldn't make it to Wuhan, China to compete for the Pan-Asian Finals 08.

FIFA Gamers Competing During CGS08 Msia Qualifier At FTZ Subang.

Then it was the WCG08: Kick Off (my previous blog), which was a first time event prior to the real WCG08 Msia to select the representatives for Msia to compete at the Asian WCG in Singapore. Previously, there was no qualifier to find who will represent Msia at the Asian WCG as the previous champions of WCG Msia were automatically chosen. However, this year they gave other gamers the chance to beat the defending champions for the place to Asia WCG. The WCG Msia defending champions did not have to play in the WCG08: KO tourney but they were waiting at the Finals to meet the new winners of the event. For FIFA08, Si_jali was the champion during WCG07 Msia and thus he was the one who will be representing Msia to the Asian WCG this year. As for the end of the WCG08: KO tourney, our clan-mate Vin emerged as the champion who then met Si_jali to determine who will be going to Singapore but Si_jali still managed to defend his title by beating Vin. As for me, i was in the Semi-Final as well but i lost to LoOn4tiC again, sparking the reminiscence of my CELgames06 defeat. -MyFes- Warrior lost to Vin on the other Semi-Final but then we didn't play the 3rd/4th placings because it didn't matter after all as there where no prizes for Top 3.

After Losing To LoOn4tiC During The WCG08: Kick Off Semi-Final.
*Inset: Champ Vin Showed His Handsome Face Before Playing Against -MyFes- Warrior.

CELgames08
The 3rd major tournament for this year was the CELgames08, which was held annually by GameAxis since 2006. Earlier, i've joined one of the Preliminary rounds, which were held to allow gamers the chance to get seeded straight into the Final 16. Vin and i joined the Tbun Prelim on 21st June and we qualified into the Final 16 together as only the Top 2 of each prelim will get seeded. Luckily, Vin was at the upper bracket while i was at the lower bracket, meaning if we were to win all of our matches from start, we will only meet each other at the Final. Lucky for both of us, we won our matches all the way and met in the Final for the 1st time but in the end i lost to him, costing me to bring home just a SonicGear headset while he got the SonicGear Enzo 500 speaker.

CELgames08 Tbun Prelim Winners. From Left: Shukor (3rd), Vin (Champ) & A13x (2nd). Both Vin & I Qualified Into The Final 16 Of CELgames08.

So on the 12th July 2008, it was the real and final event where FIFA08, NFS: Pro Street and C&C3 were the official games to be competed by gamers. CELgames08 was held together with the GameAxis LIVE! event at the Mid Valley Exhibition Hall. As my birthday had just passed a day ago, i still felt that i have some luck because LoOn4tiC and Vin were both at the upper bracket while i was at the lower bracket. The reason i feared these 2 were because they were the favourites to win the tourney, after their great performances in previous tourneys. I knew i have to only get through 3 opponents to be in the Final. My first Final 16 opponent was none other than my clan-mate @ Clan Manager, the veteran [W|nDs] Quicknet! Haha he is the oldest member in our clan and has the most experiences in business dealings, therefore he is appointed as our Clan Manager to manage the clan wisely after the retirement of Nigel from the gaming scene. He didn't have time for intense training as he's a married man with a job so i was a better gamer than him since i played and trained more. I beat him in both Home & Away games with a total goals aggregate of 5 goals. At the Final 8, i met an unknown player or should i say, a newbie who has less experiences than me. So it was quite an easy win for me as i punished him with all of the mistakes he made and got myself into the Final 4. Here i met my clan-mate Jotaro, who has always been coming over to Vin's house to train with us so it would be a tough opponent for me, although i beat him before during WCG08: KO. After the 2 games, i managed to win him to get myself to the Winner's Bracket Final while he dropped to the Loser's Bracket.

[W|nDs] LoOn4tiC vs [W|nDs] A13x During CELgames08 Winner's Bracket Final.

CELgames08 - The Final 4
Again, guess who dominated the Final 4 spots? Yeah, 3 of them were the same guys who got themselves into the WCG08: KO Final 4. This time instead of -MyFes- Warrior, [W|nDs] Jotaro managed to earn himself a place in the Final 4, making it another clean sweep by 4 [W|nDs] members along side with LoOn4tiC, Vin and i. The Final 4 was known on that day but we were to play only on the next day, which was Sunday, 13th July 2008. The funny thing was, 4 of us actually spent the night together at Vin's house and car-pooled in the same car that Jotaro drove. On our way home that day, we joked in the car that if something were to happen to us altogether, there will be no FIFA08 winners for CELgames08 haha. On the next day, we really hoped that the car would not break down or there's a massive jam ahead but it was not a thing for us to worry even if we were late to the event as they will still need to wait for us lol.

[W|nDs] Final 4 During CELgames08. From Left: A13x, Vin, Jotaro & LoOn4tiC.

The Finale - The Gamble That Paid Off
At the Winner's Bracket Final, i had to play LoOn4tiC AGAIN while Jotaro had to play against Vin in the Loser's Bracket Final. Thinking about all the efforts i had put in to reach the Final, i would not want to lose at this stage again. It was NOT EASY to get into a Final of any competition and the feeling of losing out in a Final is awfully terrible. Thus, i had already prepared myself and thought for a strategy to win my opponent the night before. As i've played LoOn4tiC for so many times, i would have known his playing style and all of his strengths and weaknesses. As i chose Brazil on the team selections screen, i could hear whispers exchanging between the spectators behind me. In FIFA08, Barcelona is the best team to be used and most of the participants were using Barcelona throughout the tourney, including me during the early stages. As i already thought of a possible way to win the experienced LoOn4tiC, i had to use Brazil, which is also actually my favourite International team. It was a gamble because the strategy i will use has its advantages and also some disadvantages. After much thoughts with myself the night before, i decided to play with the risk as i believe, with great risk comes great success but if things go wrong, it would be a huge disaster.

[W|nDs] A13x Finally Beat [W|nDs] LoOn4tiC Twice!
*Why Vin Is Always Beside Me? My Lucky Angel Perhaps? =P

So everyone was anxious to know what my mind was thinking while some even thought i was stupid for not choosing Barcelona. Anyway, the Winner's Bracket Final Home & Away games were played and the results favored me. I drew both of the games but i was the winner as i won by a better Away Goals Aggregate. In my Home game, i scored a goal while LoOn4tiC also scored 1 goal. In my Away game, i scored 2 goals and even though LoOn4tiC scored 2 goals too, i had 2 Away Goals on my hand while he only had 1. So LoOn4tiC dropped to the Loser's Bracket to meet Vin, who had beaten Jotaro with a score of 4-0 for both games. Even with a scary win of 8 goals scored against Jotaro, Vin couldn't beat LoOn4tiC. LoOn4tiC won both games by a small margin of 1-0 for each game. LoOn4tiC actually was the one who knocked Vin to the Loser's Bracket when they met earlier. With LoOn4tiC's 2nd win against Vin, he had another chance to beat me for the title. Since i didn't lose from the start, LoOn4tiC will have to beat me TWICE (2 Home & 2 Away games) in order to secure the title. The Final of the Final started and he was at Home for the first game. Everything was intense while i still used Brazil against his Barcelona and there were still no goals for the first 70 minutes. It was bad for me as getting away goals were very important. At around 78 minutes into the game, my Robinho was dribbling all the way on the left flank. As he reached the inside penalty box, he made a low cross to the middle where Ronaldo rushed in to tap the ball past Victor Valdes. This was the only goal of the game and i was quite relieved to get at least 1 Away Goal and a win. The 2nd game started with me as the Home side and things were not good for me as LoOn4tiC opened the scoring early in the game. I've learned not to lose composure during this kind of situation and i managed to equalize later on. Then, right after the 2nd half, i made a mistake and conceded another goal. This was really bad for me because if LoOn4tiC won this game 2-1, he would win because of the 2 Away goals he scored. Even though i knew i have another chance to play him again if i lost, i told myself i would not take anymore risk. I had the 1-0 win advantage from the 1st game and i want to win this too to end everything at once. As Lady Luck heard my prayers, i was lucky enough to grab myself another equalizer, which made it 2-2. The game ended and i won LoOn4tiC with a 3-2 goals aggregate. A weird feeling surrounded me as i could not believe i actually won my first major title, what's more i didn't even lose a single match throughout the entire tournament!

My Dream Of Holding A Champion Mock Cheque On Stage Finally Came True! XD

Lucky 13
After smiling towards the flashing cameras and getting interviewed by Spotgamers, my long-time training partner Vin came up to me and told me "You know why you have the luck to win CELgames?" as he raised his hand up at me to show me his watch. As i looked at it, i saw the number 13, the date of the day i won my first ever FIFA title. That made me even happier as i didn't aware it was the 13th due to my full concentrations and preparations for the Final. Prior to CELgames08, i actually played in the LYN FIFA08 Online League and won the Season 13, grabbing the Gold Medal, Golden Shoe award as well as the Clean Sheet award. I was flattering around and jokingly said that i won the Season 13 and all of the awards just for Michael Ballack, who initially started to drive me crazy with his player number who many think it's unlucky. I'm so obsessed with the number until i vowed to myself that i'll get 13 for my future's car number plate. Now that i was being crowned as the CELgames08 Champion on a 13th, i guess the number will stick with me forever.

Michael Ballack - My Lucky 13

Something To Be Proud Of
I'm sure everyone has encountered at least one happiest moment in their lives. The feeling is just so wonderful and you often thought you're dreaming, especially if you achieve something big. Winning a gaming competition is not as easy as it looks. In fact, it's never easy to win any competition, be it small or big, as there are always someone better than you in a particular thing and you have to be the best of the best in order to be on top. I was really happy to achieve something this big in my life, being on top for a particular event, although it was just a gaming competition. I'm proud with myself as i finally proved some people wrong and showed them that i'm capable of achieving something great too. What i'm more proud of are being a member of Msia's first and number 1 FIFA Clan, [W|nDs] and knowing the other members who had now become my best friends. I was a no one when i went to KL for WCG03 and i had no friends who are based from KL. I didn't know after indulging myself into gaming competitions, i would make great friends around. After joining [W|nDs], i felt happier as i have friends during competitions and would not play or wander alone. Then came -MyFes-, who initially were individual gamers like me but then they grouped up and formed another clan. I have great relationships with both clan members currently and also knowing more gamers from other genres. It's truly a wonderful thing and i never regret the first step of me joining WCG03. So this title was not won solely with my own efforts alone. It was everything that started from knowing the people who gave advices, encouragements, supports and trainings.

[W|nDs] Won Plenty Of $$ During CELgames08.
*Look At Vin's Cute Face When He's In Contact With Lotsa Cash!


I would really want to thank Nigel for his friendly and kind personality that made me want to go for more gaming competitions and also welcoming me to the [W|nDs] family. Not forgetting all of the members of [W|nDs] and also -MyFes- as well as other gamers who had given me plenty of enjoying moments during tournaments. [W|nDs] Vin aka "fuiyoh geng dou sei leng zhai Vin Der Sar" was the one who made me what i am today. He is a talented and calm gamer who had achieved many great performances. It was him whom i trained most with and i learned a lot of useful and good skills from him that made me a good gamer today. He and his cousin, Des who is also our clan-mate, also welcomed me to stay at their place everytime i'm in KL for competitions, which is really really convenient for me instead of staying at my bro's place where i have to travel alone. Vin's a great friend to be also who always smile and smile and smile all the time! Hahaha at least now i have a close friend in KL who share the same interests with me and we always have fun hanging out together. Jotaro and LoOn4tiC are the other funny members. Jotaro has been driving us around to and from competitions as he's the one who has a car and lives nearby Vin's place while we can't stop teasing each other when we are playing FIFA! LoOn4tiC is a crazy chap who keeps doing and saying silly stuffs, the only member in the clan who shares the same wacky behaviour as mine.

The CELgames08 Final 4 [W|nDs] Walking Together In Style Shortly After Arriving Mid Valley's Car Park.

Sigh it's really something that i'm really proud of, winning a title with prizes while having plenty of great friends around. What's more do i want? Well, my next wish would be getting a TREBLE win this year because there are only 2 major FIFA08 competitions left, the WCG08 Msia on 15th August and the WGT08 on 29th October. If only i could achieve this, i will be really satisfied even if i have to retire from professional gaming next year! I believe in "IMPOSSIBLE IS NOTHING!" XD


Happy Moments

[W|nDs] During CELgames07 At Lowyat Plaza.

This Is "Brazillll" -MyFes- Jingkung From Sabah.
He's Such An Adorable & Funny Fatty! XD


[W|nDs] & -MyFes- Members During WGT07 At 1 Utama.

[W|nDs] & -MyFes- Members During MMU E-Week Competition 08 At MMU Cyberjaya.

[W|nDs] During CGS07 At Cineleisure.

The 3 Stooges That Won CELgames08.


I LOVE YOU GUYS!!!
Haha felt so emo.. =P


Links:
Spotgamers - Spotgamers did a short review and interviews with gamers during CELgames08. Check the video out by clicking the link!
CELgames08
Multiplay Lowyat
Clan [W|nDs]
Clan -MyFes-
WCG Malaysia
CGS Asia
LYN FIFA08 Online League

Photos:
Chapree's Photos
TPK's Photos

Monday, June 16, 2008

WCG08: Kick Off - Top 4 Again

Haha finally after 3 months i've decided to write again. Pardon me for my laziness lolz =P

Local FIFA Clans [W|nDs] & -MyFes- At The WCG08: Kick Off.

Well i think i just wanted to write a little about my recent FIFA08 tournament, which was the WCG08: Kick Off, simply known as the WCG08: ACG Qualifier which was held on 30th-31st May 2008. As for the noobs, WCG means World Cyber Games while ACG means Asian Cyber Games. This is the first time Malaysia held the ACG Qualifier to find the best gamers to represent Malaysia to compete in the ACG08 in Singapore on 7th-10th August 2008. Before that, the previous year WCG champions will be sent automatically. My clan-mate [W|nDs] si_jali was supposed to be representing Malaysia for FIFA this year but because of this event, he will be seeded to the finals in where he will meet the champion of this event to decide who will be going to Singapore.

The FIFA08 Semi-Finalists.
From Left: [W|nDs] LoOn4tiC, [W|nDs] A13x, [W|nDs] Vin & -MyFes- Warrior.

As slots were only limited to 32 for FIFA08, it was a first come first serve basis of registration. There were only 4 groups and [W|nDs] again dominated the tournament by having 3 members winning 3 groups and the other group was won by -MyFes- Warrior. [W|nDs] vin, [W|nDs] LoOn4tiC and i emerged as the champions of our groups. In the semi-final the next day, it was [W|nDs] Vin playing against -MyFes- Warrior while i met [W|nDs] LoOn4tiC. Guessed i was not good enough while having not much luck, i lost 1-2 in my first Away match while drawing 3-3 in my 2nd Home match which meant i lost 4-5 on aggregate. For the other match, [W|nDs] Vin managed to beat -MyFes- Warrior. It was quite an exciting Finals between 2 [W|nDs] members when [W|nDs] LoOn4tiC won the first match 2-0 but [W|nDs] Vin managed to make a comeback on the 2nd match by winning 4-1. So it was [W|nDs] Vin who had the chance to beat the defending [W|nDs] si_jali to grab his spot to Singapore. However, [W|nDs] si_jali led the 1st match 1-0 and it was a 1-1 draw on the 2nd match. The experienced [W|nDs] si_jali managed to hold on to his title to represent Malaysia again to the ACG08, together with NFS:Carbon defending champion Forza and Kingsurf for DotA.

Semi-Final [W|nDs] A13x VS [W|nDs] LoOn4tiC On Stage.

It was an exciting and fun event even though it was held outdoor just outside Plaza Lowyat. [W|nDs] was even interviewed by TV3 Remaja when the crew came to cover the event. The interview was featured on TV3 on Saturday, 14th June 2008 and can be watched on their website here or download the cut-short video edited my me here.

[W|nDs] Being Interviewed By TV3 Remaja.

For myself, i was happy to be in the semi-final for the 2nd time after my first achievement on CGS07 (Championship Gaming Series) and also being picked as the taxi player (reserved player) for KL Taufan to go to Wuhan, China for the Pan Asia Finals in this year's CGS. I see this as a step of improvement for myself after so much hard work and intensive trainings i've put for the past few years. This event definitely made me a better gamer with all the experiences and intense play-to-win spirit. Next tournament will be the CELgames08 on 11th-13th July 2008 in Mid Valley Megamall. Time to buck up myself to make into the Finals this time!

[W|nDs] A13x Striving To Be In The Finals.

Links:
WCG Malaysia
CELgames08
CGS Asia
Multiplay Lowyat
Linkinstreet's Day 1 Photos
Linkinstreet's Day 2 Photos
Chapree's Day 1 Photos
Chapree's Day 2 Photos

Thursday, March 6, 2008

Erection 08 Is Just Around The Corner. Who will you vote?

Ok so the Erection 08 (pardon me the spelling, Jermyn influenced me) is just around the corner, just 2 more days to be exact. I've seen posters and banners of humans' heads hanging around the street like there's a big funeral going on. Fliers are thrown into your mailbox, clipped at your car's windscreen and they might even consider making and giving away their own toilet papers when they go overboard. Just imagine wiping your butt with a person's face on it and cap your punggung with the DAP or BN initials. Concerts are held in the housing area's small padang or roadside with young girls singing "oh oh oh oh oh ah ah ah ah" (haha look at Jermyn's blog) or apek & aunties singing old opera songs. I heard all of these but i never bother looking at the papers or be at the events lolz. Not that i don't care but i haven't register myself to vote, so i might register next time... and might vote next time... if i remember next time... =P

Well since i can't vote, i might as well join the partaaaaay~!!! They look very enjoying as they sing songs, shake strangers' hands, give long and frustrating speeches and do things they don't normally do for the past 4 years. So i've decided to gather my mates and start a party. Since i just started, so cincai make one banner but i think my banner can beat most of the other parties' banners in which they had spent hundreds of Ringgits on. So you guys have to remember to vote for my party this coming Saturday. If you cannot find our logo or our party listed in the paper, then you bet it must be the f***ing corrupted government's work!

DMZ's Erection 08 Banner. Click To Enlarge.

Seriously, vote for the oppositions. I've seen enough of the corruptions that our current government had created (through the forwarded emails and YouTube videos). I have a great feeling that the oppositions will get better results this time. We want a better future, don't we Malaysians? Gogo DAP! Errr...i mean DMZ! XD

Wednesday, March 5, 2008

How To Be A Professional Footballer?

Every football fanatic has a big dream of becoming a professional footballer. Sadly for many Malaysians, we are in a country where the football standard is as low as Digi's low flat rate and not forgetting about the awful corruptions as well. So even though you have the skills and determination to become a professional footballer, you just don't have the opportunity or chance to start. If not for this reason also, most are already becoming 'apek' and it's way too late for them.

There are many of us who are still dreaming day and night, especially after watching the EPL or UEFA Champions League matches, you will wish how much you want to play on the carpet field, with spotlights shining and seeing replays of your matches. You don't have to be very sad about your impossible dream because you can do something to have the closest feel of being a professional footballer! XD

Michael Ballack Scoring Against West Ham Recently. Chelsea Won 4-0.

So how do you start? First, get yourself a team. Find your other football fanatic friends or go out and know more friends if you're a geek who always hide yourself at home and play DotA or chat with your gf on MSN, you lifeless jerk. Form a football team and name your team that rhymes with any of the professional clubs such as Butoh United, AC Mulan, Real Kampung, Bayern Bombastic or the easiest, just add a FC to the back of your team's name to make your team looks like it's big and has a fan club. Then, fight for the number that you like, normally the same number of your favourite player. Everyone has his own football idol and it's very very good because idols often influence people and give them the passions and confidences to succeed. For me, Michael Ballack does really inspire me a lot. He scored in the recent EPL match against West Ham and the next day, i scored 2 goals for CFC's friendly match against Politeknik Ungku Omar. We won 3-2 and the best thing was i scored the 2nd equaliser and also scored a stunning long shot at 90th minute to help the team won! Tell me what's happier than this? XD

Don Your Idol's Number.

If you really want to be like your idol, you will have to be 'like' him. Doesn't matter if you have an ugly look, fat or short as it doesn't matter physically. You're a professional footballer and the most important is your skills and what you can do on the pitch. Play like your idol. If your idol is good at performing long shots, then practice your shootings. Same goes to if he's a great header, dribbler, crosser or a diver. Do not forget basic soccer skills are the most important, such as ball control, passes, ball-stopping and that's why you need to focus on these basics first before you think of becoming like your idol. Another closest way to be like your idol, after donning his legendary number, is to wear the same boots he wears. If he wears the Adidas Predator, Nike Mercurial Vapor or whatever expensive boots, you will have to throw in money to experience why the boots are so expensive. However, if you are poor after spending too much on your gf, then just get those lower range of the same model.

My New Baby - The Adidas Predator PowerSwerve.

And there you go, you're on the verge of becoming a "professional footballer", of your own lol. Although you don't earn million pounds or get thousands of fans, you get a better feel everytime you play football. Get your team to play with other teams every week by finding a referee and pay him to organize friendly matches for you. It's very important if you believe in yourself. It's good to tell yourself, "I'm a professional" everytime when you play because it makes you play better, train harder and gives you the eagerness to improve. Watch how your idol plays and follow his greatness. Don't expect to be like a professional if you don't train. Practice makes perfect and my advice is don't ever ever lose the heart of playing a wonderful football. Believe yourself that you can do something and show to the world what you're capable of. Remember Adidas' inspiration motto, "IMPOSSIBLE IS NOTHING!". Learn from mistakes you made during games and come as a better player tomorrow.

Canning FC's Michael Ballack. =P

If that's not enough, make your team looks even more professional as well. Create a website or an account in Friendster and collect fans while updating them with your current fixtures and results! You can think of many ideas and do them. As long as you feel happy and it doesn't offend anyone. What's life if can't enjoy some happy moments, right? Remember you can't be playing football forever, so play when you have the chance. Do not ever forget your team-mates as well because without them, you won't have a team and you don't get the chance to feel what is teamwork and team celebrations.

Check out Canning FC's
Friendster profile and join its Friendster group to get the team's match fixtures and updates!

Thursday, January 31, 2008

See KL On Monopoly...Soon!

If you don't know what the heck is Monopoly, open another browser and search it on Wikipedia and read the whole damn article about it.

Ok so you know what is it, but have you ever see Kua
la Lumpur on the board? Don't talk about Saidina, i'm talking about the most popular board game in the world. Yeah if you ever wonder if we can see our very own proud city and country on the board, right next to Paris or New York, then it is possible that you might see it on the next Monopoly version, called Monopoly Here & Now: The World Edition, which will be launched worldwide on 3rd September.


Before we can be sure that we can actually buy a property of Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia in Monopoly, we have to vote for it. Monopoly hasn't decide which cities they are going to feature on the new world edition and Monopoly fanatics are asked to vote for their top 10 cities if they want to see their own cities to be featured. There are already 68 cities listed for voting and proudly to say, our capital city is one of them. *Hoooray! Msia Boleh!*

Monopoly Ipoh Edition by A13x.

The voting period ends on 28 February 2008 and only the top 20 cities with the most votes will be featured on the board. Besides that, you can nominate other cities or towns in Malaysia to be featured on two "wildcard" property spots as well. So hurry to www.monopoly.com and start voting. At this moment, Paris is at the top of the rank with 4.2% of votes
while KL is being listed at the 49th ranking with only 0.7% of votes, pathetic! Haha so do you think KL can achieve such a small proud achievement just to be named one of the cities on Monopoly? That will have to depend on us. In the end, Malaysia still needs its rakyat-rakyat to help mengharumkan nama Malaysia. Muahahaha ask them to stop increasing prices and improve TMNut's Screamyx services first before we click on the 'Vote' button.

Thursday, January 10, 2008

Canning FC - A Fresh Start Of The Year

Canning FC (CFC).

Last Sunday, on the 6th of January 2008, Canning FC played its first match of the year. After playing 25 matches by winning 14, drawing 4 and lost only 7 matches last year, we ended the 2007 season with quite an impressive record. As the new season began, we were determined to win our first match of the year. It was indeed an interesting match, probably one of the many great matches that we will remember throughout the year. Losing 1-2 in the first half and the team which was filled with winning enthusiasms after the half-time break, fought back with a never-give-up attitude which ended the intense match with an amazing win of 7-2.

It was a cloudy evening when both sides arrived at the DR Park field at around 5pm. The field was not in a good condition as heavy rain stormed through the area earlier, leaving the pitch wet, muddy and with patches of water. The opponent was a malay team, called the Orange FC which was printed on the back of the players' shirts. They looked very confident prior the match as the team players warmed up in sync with discipline. They even had training kits to be worn while warming up and changed to their team jerseys when the match began, how wealthy. The team looked like the favourites to win on the eyes of the spectators as some of the CFC players looked young and small in body sizes. As the referee arrived as well as the late players (including me hehe), the match kicked off.

CFC Futsal Team During Kosmo Xfresh.fm Tourney.

First Half
CFC was playing with a 4-5-1 formation. CFC had a star-studded team with Tai Hau aka Peter Schmeichel (my friend who i asked him to join us recently as CFC had no GK) as the goalkeeper, Dr. Basel aka Gael Clichy guarding the left-back, Ah Kwek-Quek aka Tal Ben Haim guarding the right-back and the 2 solid top defenders of CFC, Wai Lune aka Alessandro Nesta and Syed Meerah aka Jamie Carragher as the centre-backs. The left-winger was a newly recruited member with fast paces, who was called Prakash aka Florent Malouda while the right-winger was an imported chinese player who was on trial with the team. Controlling the midfield for CFC were Calvin Kong aka Xabi Alonso, the shorty skipper Ivan Teh aka Gennaro Gattuso and Alexander Lim aka Michael Ballack. The lone striker was Salinder Singh aka David Trezeguet. The opponent seemed to be playing with a 4-4-2 formation.

The first half kicked off with both of the teams struggling hard to pass around on the wet pitch. Several short passes and through balls were interrupted by the patches of water, which put a halt to the moving ball. CFC's attacking strategy was to attack on the wing most, particularly on the left side. On several occasions, Prakash tried to beat the opponent's right-back and most of the time he did but always failed to send the ball to the middle successfully. There were some chances for CFC, created by long balls and through balls but they were mostly denied by outrageous offsides. Nonetheless, CFC opened the scoring first with a fluke goal by Sal. Prakash assisted the goal by passing from the left to Sal who was in the middle of the penalty line. Sal made a very weak and slow shot but the goalkeeper failed to catch the ball and let it passed through his legs, what a sudden and shock goal for CFC! Sadly, CFC failed to hold on to the lead as the opponents put on pressure to CFC by launching fast counter attacks on the wings. Wai Lune worked very hard to keep the opponents at bay by making a lot of pin-point sliding tackles. However, Orange FC equalised from a corner in which CFC defenders left one of the players unmarked, allowing him to head in a free header at point-blank. CFC was struggling hard to play on such a wet pitch but still created a few chances where Sal and Prakash made some shots wide. Calvin Kong wasn't at his peak form as he failed to stop and control many incoming passes, due to the slippery condition. Right before half-time, Orange FC again counter attacked on the left side. This time the crosser sent in a curling ball to the middle which was punched away by Tai Hau. The ball didn't go out or far away from the goal but it landed on the right side of the post where the Orange FC striker made a jumping kick to score the second goal at point-blank again. Wai Lune was quite furious with the goalkeeper for not punching the ball away hard enough but it was difficult for Tai Hau as well since he didn't put on his gloves and the ball was definitely slippery.

Futsal Team During Ipoh Futsal Tourney.

Second Half
CFC had a team-talk during the break which gave a boost to the team morale. Three changes were made,
Ah Kwek-Quek came off for Jason Tay aka Michel Salgado, the imported chinese player was substituted with Justin aka Ze Roberto and Sal who was not on form, came off for Chris Conrad aka Thierry Henry. With no desire of losing the first match of the year, CFC players came on the 2nd half with great passion and determination to win. This was when the goals kept coming and things got more interesting. Crowds started to gather to watch the exciting match. Just minutes after the start from the break, Jason Tay received a ball from 22 yards out of the goal. He made a lob into the penalty box but one of the defenders used his hand to block the ball while challenging for the aerial ball. Obviously, the referee pointed to the spot without hesitation. Alexander Lim, who was inspired by the recent penalty goal Ballack scored during the match against Fulham, stepped up to take the penalty with confidence. Without any mistake, he shot past the keeper to the left-bottom of the goal, similar to the goal that Ballack scored. By getting the equaliser, CFC team chemistry went up a level. Chris Conrad, was the super-sub of the match by scoring a hat-trick for CFC. Chris' first goal was a professional header to the goal's right side, resulting from a nice cross by Justin on the right. Alexander Lim made a precise long ball from the near half-way line that found Chris breaking the offside trap and slotted in his second goal. Chris completed his hat-trick after he stole the ball from the opponent on the left side and made a perfect grounder-shot to the right side of the goal. Orange FC was stunned after CFC managed to make the score 5-2 after just 70 minutes. Calvin Kong was totally not on form that day when he wasted 2 chances to score from a 1v1 situations and on another occasion Calvin Kong was attacking on the left side but he failed to send a cross to Alexander Lim, who was left unmarked in the middle. CFC's skipper Ivan Teh substituted him out for Nyin Cheong aka Martin Demichelis. Ivan Teh and Dr. Basel also came off for Alan Goh aka Richard Dunne and another imported chinese player who was also on trial with CFC.

Champ of Kejohanan Futsal Kelab Sukan Komuniti Dun Teja 2006.

Orange FC tried to attack as much as they could but their efforts were always stopped by the 2 CFC's solid center-backs. Wai Lune made a lot of precise sliding tackles whenever he had the chance while Syed was too good in reading the opponent's play, often intercepting the ball when the opponents tried to dribble past him. Syed did not fail to include his name to the score sheet as CFC won a free-kick, around 28 yards on the left side of the penalty box. Freekick specialist, Alexander Lim took the free-kick with a Lampard style, which was by sending in a curling cross into the penalty box for the teammates to head in. True enough, the ball curled in at a right height and angle and Syed headed the ball with power, which saw the ball hit the back of the net. At this point, Orange FC was devastated and the players were too eager to get a goal, causing them to lose focus and concentration on the game. It was on the 90th minute injury time, CFC made a last attack from the right. Justin sent in a strong cross to the middle but the Orange FC's goalkeeper dived out to punch the ball. Luckily for Alexander Lim, the ball rolled slowly to him just at the line of the penalty box and he blasted in to the left-bottom to make the final score 7-2. The referee blew the final whistle right after the shocking and depressing Orange FC restarted the game. Both of the teams' players shook hands with smiles on the faces and congratulated each other for an intense and exciting match. Orange FC walked home in disbelief while CFC celebrated with joy, satisfactions and 3 points for the start of the year.

CFC Early Days When Jerseys Were Not Made Yet.

Well for me personally, it was indeed a memorable match for me. I was really satisfied with my performance that day, giving myself a proud high rating of 9/10 haha =P. Scoring 2 goals and providing 2 assists made me felt so happy that i had done something for the team. What i'm happy most is that i knew Ballack really inspired me a lot. After watching him came back to play for Chelsea, he made me want to play football more. When he scored the penalty against Fulham, i actually told myself if there was a penalty during my friendly match, i would definitely take it even though i don't take penalties for the team. I was shocked that God decided to award a penalty for me that day (thanks!!!) haha. When i took it, i just wanted to take it like how Ballack did, not thinking about whether it would go in or not lolz. The free-kick was another happy moment for me. When i took it, i just thought of how Lampard usually took free-kicks from this situation and angle. His free-kicks are creative and brilliant, sending a curling cross into the penalty box which at the same time, aims for the far post of the goal. This means it will have 2 chances of scoring, either the teammates head in like how Syed did, or if everyone misses the ball, it will go straight into the back of the net. I was really impressed with my free-kick, which was at the right angle and height and Syed was good too to get the header on time. Wow i just can't forget the incidents hehe.

I Have To Say This Again, Ballack Inspires Me! =P

Anyway, i should say all of the team players had really shown great performances that day and a lot of efforts were put in. We made great passes, kept possession most of the time and scored amazing and professional goals. We can prove that our multi-ethnic team which has a mix of chinese, indian, malay and even mamak players is capable of producing wonderful and interesting football. It's sad that we can't train together regularly due to some players who are busy with works and studies, but it's surely great that as an underdog team most of the time, we are able to win teams that train regularly and even teams that play in the current Ipoh's Division League.


Check out CFC's Friendster profile and join its Friendster group to get the team's match fixtures and updates!