Mobile Legends and Beyond: Jun Xian Finds His Team

“If I wanted to play, I had to fight with my brother for the phone,” Jun Xian laughs.

He started playing Mobile Legends in Primary 3 or 4, sharing his mum’s phone and squeezing in matches whenever he could. Most of the time, he played alone. It was something he enjoyed, but it was just that.... a game and a way to pass time.

Today, he still plays, but he no longer plays alone, and Mobile Legends is only one small part of a much bigger story.

Jun Xian first got to know YGOS in Secondary 1 through his school’s P.E.A.R.L.S programme. The lessons focused on values, life planning, and budgeting, but what stayed with him were the activities that were introduced alongside it.

Through kin-ball, archery, soccer, and eventually Mobile Legends, he slowly found his place in what has now become his YGOS community.

When he heard about the YGOS Mobile Legends programme, he decided to join because he wanted to improve his skills, have fun, and play with others.

Through the programme, he now has the opportunity to improve his gameplay under the guidance of professional Esports Coach Daryl Ng, also known as @daryltheyoungin.

The sessions give him a structured space to practise more intentionally, ask questions, and learn from someone experienced. At the same time, he is getting to know other players in the group and build new friendships.

More than just learning mechanics or strategy, it also gives him the opportunity to strengthen his communication and learn how to play more effectively as part of a team.

Outside of Mobile Legends, what he does at YGOS depends on who he comes with that day.

Sometimes he brings his younger brother and they play futsal together. Other times, he joins games like Red King. Some days are active, some days are just about hanging out. He enjoys having different ways to spend his time and different people to spend it with.

Over time, YGOS became more than just a place to play.

When asked who he feels close to at YGOS, he mentions Tabs. Tabs is Tabitha, the Centre Manager for YGOS Ang Mo Kio.

“I like to talk to Tabs. We talk about anything. She’s someone you can tell things to. She won’t judge me. She can make jokes and make me laugh.”

Last year, when his N Level exams were approaching, Tabs kept checking in on him. She reminded him to study and followed up on how his revision was going.

“She knows what kind of person I am,” he says. “She kept nagging me to study.”

He smiles when he says it, but he knows it mattered, and he has his results to show for it.

When it came time to choose his course pathway, Tabs guided him through the decision and helped him think about what direction would suit him.

Like a good mentor would, she helped him see that his choices had weight and that his future was something worth thinking seriously about.

Without YGOS, Jun Xian believes his life would feel aimless.

“I would just be passing through the day,” he says. “I come here to talk to people and use my time in a more meaningful way instead of rotting away at home.”

For Jun Xian, YGOS is a big part of how he is growing up, and he is growing up well.