Canadian basketball influencer Matt Kiatipis drew a crowd of at least 400 spectators to the Lorong Lew Lian basketball court in Singapore on Oct 7, forcing a police response to manage the massive turnout after a previous event in Chinatown was abruptly canceled due to crowd safety concerns.
The Scene at Upper Serangoon
Tucked amid HDB blocks and private housing in Upper Serangoon, the Lorong Lew Lian basketball facility transformed into an impromptu arena. When The Straits Times arrived at 5.30pm, the area was already packed with at least 150 people, mostly youths in school PE shirts and uniforms. Spectators jammed balconies along adjacent Housing Board blocks overlooking the court to secure vantage points.
The crowd swelled further as enthusiastic fans started chanting “MK, MK, MK!” at around 6.40pm. Kiatipis arrived in a black van, wearing a white San Antonio Spurs kit bearing the name of French superstar Victor Wembanyama. The 26-year-old online celebrity picked several players from the crowd for intense one-on-one matches, featuring a brash persona, physical play, and relentless trash talk.
| Event Detail | Chinatown Complex Rooftop | Lorong Lew Lian Court |
|---|---|---|
| Date | Oct 6 | Oct 7 |
| Crowd Size | Uncontrolled / Massive | At least 400 spectators |
| Status | Canceled due to crowd size | Completed with police intervention |
Managing Unprecedented Turnouts
The event concluded roughly an hour and a half after it began, with police arriving by about 7.30pm to maintain order. The massive popularity caught local residents unaware, with many peering out of their windows to ask teenagers who the Canadian creator was.
The disruption followed a failed attempt a day earlier. Kiatipis had originally tried to stage his first one-on-one challenge at the Chinatown Complex rooftop court, but the sheer size of the crowd encroaching into the playing area forced him to call off the gathering while police were present.
“This is getting so crazy. I can’t believe it. Singapore… you filled up the entire court. You filled up the bleachers, people were watching from the (balconies) and we announced the 1v1 only six hours before,” Kiatipis said in an Instagram post following the event.
From College Hoops to Global Streetball
Kiatipis, a native of Newmarket, Ontario, built a following of 3.5 million users across Instagram and TikTok by staging one-on-one contests at outdoor asphalt courts worldwide. His background includes playing college basketball at Canada’s Simon Fraser University before transferring to a United States institution where pandemic disruptions cut his season short. Following a professional stint in Costa Rica, he shifted entirely to digital content creation.
Local participants acknowledged the scale of the gathering. Nihal Hamid, a 20-year-old PSB Academy student who managed to challenge Kiatipis, noted the intensity of the environment. “I have played in front of crowds, but not something this massive. But I expected this to happen, it is no surprise given his following,” Hamid told The Straits Times.
Singapore marks the second stop on his South-east Asian tour, following a stint in Jakarta from Oct 1 to 3 for the King of Ballers streetball event. Kiatipis confirmed plans to stage two additional one-on-one sessions as part of his ongoing regional itinerary.
