The four-day games, held at Suntec City, ended yesterday.

At last year's inaugural Asian leg of the WCG cyber Olympics, Singapore wiped the floor with the competition by winning two golds and two bronzes to take overall champion.

But it could not manage a top three placing this year, as its one silver and one bronze placed it overall fourth.

The Asian championship is a sideshow of the WCG, and foreshadows who could do well at the world Grand Finals in Seattle in October.

This time, it was China, last year's Asian runners-up and now ranked fifth in the world, which showed its true mettle.

It won three golds out of a total five games to edge out current world champions and hot favourites South Korea, which settled for second place with two gold medals.

Third place went to Australia, with one silver and two bronzes.

Singapore's best chance for a gold came from Wilson 'Tetra' Chia, 22, Singapore's virtual Bruce Lee. He had taken silver in the action fighting game Dead Or Alive during the WCG World 2005 championships, held in Singapore.

This year, Mr Chia looked on track for his second Asian WCG championship title when he took an early 2-0 lead in the Dead Or Alive final, with his ninja character, Hayabusa.

He usually finishes his opponents off with his trademark 'izuna' piledriver, in which Hayabusa throws his opponents high in the air, catches them mid-air and slams them down headfirst.

But it was not to be this time. Before a crowd of hundreds, underdog Zhu Tao, 20, from China, who started competing only this year, narrowly beat Mr Chia 3-2 with his Geisha character Kokoro's fast punches and kicks.

'He underestimated me,' said Mr Zhu.

But Mr Chia, who is Singapore's only medal winner at world level, was unfazed.

'I will try again at the WCG grand finals in October. I still have a good chance,' he said hoarsely, having battled fever and a viral infection throughout the competition.

Singapore's players in Fifa Soccer 2007, Defence Of The Ancients and Warcraft 3 all crashed out at the quarter-finals.

Singapore's bronze winner was NSman Chan Kuan Chuan, 21, who beat a New Zealander in the strategy game Age Of Empires 3.

Mr Chan had lost in the semi-final to his Australian counterpart, who had amassed a huge army early. For the game for bronze, Mr Chan's New Zealand rival tried to use the same strategy.

'But he failed. After I lost to the Australian, I asked and he taught me the counter-strategy,' quipped Mr Chan.

ginlee@sph.com.sg