The popular game is set to push the local esport scene further into the mainstream after the Kuala Lumpur Major was announced to be taking place later this year.
During a press conference after the launch in Kuala Lumpur on Wednesday, the Malaysian Minister of Youth and Sports was asked about the possibility of having a national side in place for the upcoming Major, which he did not outright reject.
"Some might see esports as another sport, but the Malaysian government sees it as an industry itself. This is the future and Malaysia cannot fall behind. It is not 'orang tak ada kerja main game saja', I believe it's bigger than that." - @SyedSaddiq.#KualaLumpurMajor pic.twitter.com/ngjsjlimX3
— Stadium Astro (@stadiumastro) September 5, 2018
"As of now, [having a national team] is none to my knowledge, but that's a very interesting idea," he said.
"I will discuss this with Datuk Shapawi Ismail [National Sports Council director-general] and my team first."
At the same time, Syed Saddiq was aware of the difficulty of assembling the team for the Kuala Lumpur Major or any upcoming Dota 2 tournament.
"Some of our [existing] best teams are privately owned or are not nationally endorsed, and it is best to give them the freedom to continue to do so.
"The selection process [for the national team] on its own will take time, and we do not want to randomly pick players.
"In reality, there would be 20 teams better than the [hastily assembled] team.
"But we do plan to start up a lead process, which is something in the woodworks to ensure the grassroots development happens in all states and is not focused only on Kuala Lumpur, for example."
The Kuala Lumpur Major will take place from November 16 to 18 at the Axiata Arena, Bukit Jalil.
