Jakarta, 14 October 2021 – The National Games (PON) XX Papua 2021 has held a friendly competition for the esports division in which several popular competitive games were featured for competition, including a developed-in Indonesia game Lokapala.

Even though it was held as a friendly match, Lokapala deserved a recognition as its debut at the National Games was driven by the passion to promote games developed by Indonesian creators for esport on prestigious national and global events. "By playing the game at PON XX Papua, we hope to encourage the rise of the domestic game development industry," Dedi Suherman, CEO of Lokapala publisher, Melon Indonesia, said. 

Separately, Telkom Indonesia Digital Business Director Muhamad Fajrin Rasyid said, "As the esports industry develops in Indonesia, we hope that Indonesians will not only become consumers, but we will also encourage local game creators to produce games that could go global." 

The match, which was held offline with strict health protocol, was broadcast live on the YouTube channel of the Indonesian Esports Executive Board (PBESI), UPoint.id, and NimoTV. The semi final match for Lokapala was held on 22 September 2021, followed by the match to compete for the bronze medal on 23 September 2021, and the final match on 25 September 2021. The match resulted in the best four winning teams. 

The Lokapala game match saw Jeet Esports Team, with players Dicxon Fernando, Dzikri Adinulloh, Gurbinder Singh, Vesa Herawan, and Yohanes Ibrahim came out as the winner after beating Dewa United team which consisted of players Denis Haris Prayogo, Indrawan Prasetyo, Mokhamad Yusuf Afrizal, Muhammad Iqbal, and Roger Jeremy and secured its place as first runner up. The team that took the second runner up spot was Capital Esports Team with players Arbi Yusuf Ramanda, Fazri Rohi Dedza, I Kadek Arya Wiratama, Li men, and R. Asnawi. 

At the closing of the 2021 PON XX Papua esports exhibition match, the Chief Steering Officer and Secretary General of PB Esports Indonesia Frengky Ong said, "Since the PON XX Papua eSports exhibition started on 21 September, we have witnessed the 188 skillful athletes who competed with comprehensive strategy and intelligence. The teams have also played in good sportsmanship in accordance with with the athletes' joint promise." 

"It is interesting that the athletes from all regions have similar skills and it is a potential resource for esports' progressive achievements in the future. The performance of all athletes in the first round of the XX Papua 2021 PON exhibition deserves recognition and a big round of applause," he said. 

The total prize for the Lokapala friendly match at PON XX Papua 2021 was 180 million rupiah. The list of winners and their prizes is as follows: 

• Winner: Jeet Esports, 100 million rupiah cash prize + trophy  
• 1st runner up: Dewa United, 50 million rupiah cash prize 
• 2nd runner up: Capital Esports, 20 million cash prize 
• 3rd runner up: Pasopati Esports, 10 million cash prize 

The exhibition match PON XX Papua 2021 is expected to encourage development of all game categories and athletes, and they could be more welcomed in the future, so that they could demonstrate to the domestic and global stages how Indonesia's esports has progressed. 

#DigitalBisa #UntukIndonesiaLebihBaik