Singapore spat in the face of neighbouring Malaysia last weekend by stealing the Top 3 finish for the Street Fighter 4 Breakout tournament held in the heart of Kuala Lumpur.

It was a most inhospitable act, considering our local players had an open invite to the competition, but was also one in true spirit of our traditional (and friendly!) Singapore/Malaysia rivalry.

The tag team tournament held in Berjaya Times Square saw Eng Ghim Kee (DM.MCZ Gackt) and Rodney Qiu take first place. Ho Kun Xian (DM.MCZ Xian) and Leslie Cheong settled for second, while Koji Miyake and Thomas Ng (Tanka Tanky) took third place, effectively ousting Malaysia from the podium finish. The teams won two PlayStation 3 units, two Xbox 360 units, and two PlayStation Portable units respectively.

“It was a long fight, and the Malaysian players had a lot of game knowledge. But it was a pleasure competing with them, and I hope to do so again in the future,” said Koji, for whom it was the first time heading north to compete in a Street Fighter 4 tournament.

A total of 11 Singapore players attended the Breakout tournament. Given the proximity of our nations, crossing the border to play in competitions or casuals is not unheard of for Singaporean and Malaysian fighting game players.

(Photo: Teik Chye)