Large crowd forces Canadian streetball star Matt Kiatipis to call off 1v1 challenge in Chinatown

Basketball influencer Matt Kiatipis engaging members of the public at Chinatown Complex basketball court on Oct 6.

Published Oct 06, 2026, 11:36 PM

Updated Oct 07, 2026, 10:07 AM

- Canadian basketball influencer Matt Kiatipis called off his Chinatown one-on-one challenge after hundreds of fans packed the rooftop court and police were called for safety.

- Kiatipis said he wanted to give Singapore players a chance, but the huge turnout and overcrowding left too little space to play.

- He plans more Singapore events and may extend his stay, as he aims to grow one-on-one basketball worldwide.

SINGAPORE – Canadian basketball influencer Matt Kiatipis went to Chinatown on Oct 6 looking for challengers but left without playing a single game after he got more than he bargained for.

Hundreds of enthusiastic fans packed the Chinatown Complex rooftop basketball court, and the overwhelming size of the crowd, which encroached into the court, meant his open one-on-one challenge could not go ahead.

Kiatipis, better known as MK, only managed to shoot some hoops instead, before deciding to call off the event.

Fans had resorted to climbing the fences around the court to get a glimpse of the online celebrity, with others even gathered at the staircase landings of the adjacent HDB blocks for a better view.

Chants of “MK, MK, MK” rang out as he walked in, flanked by a posse of security personnel, and he stood out in his pink goalkeeper away jersey of the Singapore national football team.

Members of the public crowding at Chinatown Complex basketball court to catch a glimpse of basketball influencer Matt Kiatipis on Oct 6. ST PHOTO: BRIAN TEO

Members of the public crowding at Chinatown Complex basketball court to catch a glimpse of basketball influencer Matt Kiatipis on Oct 6.

The police were also called because of the size of the crowd, who had turned up well before his 6.30pm meet-up time, after he revealed the location on his Instagram stories at noon.

The 26-year-old Kiatipis told The Straits Times: “It’s the first day in Singapore and we were supposed to be playing, but obviously today was a little bit crazy and we weren’t able to play.

“There were so many people that came to the event today in Chinatown. There were beautiful views, tons of excited people, all good and positive energy. But unfortunately, there’s only so much space you have when you have a rooftop court.

“The Singaporean police were very nice. They dealt with the event very nicely. They let us play and just told us that we don’t want anyone hurt. We wanted to make sure that there’s space and just have fun.”

Police officers at the Chinatown Complex basketball court as members of the public gathered for a glimpse of basketball influencer Matt Kiatipis on Oct 6. ST PHOTO: BRIAN TEO

Police officers at the Chinatown Complex basketball court as members of the public gathered for a glimpse of basketball influencer Matt Kiatipis on Oct 6.

Kiatipis admitted that the turnout caught him off guard.

He added: “Every time I’ve announced an event the day of, maybe 100 people come max, traditionally (even) in bigger countries than Singapore.

“So just do the maths... I wasn’t expecting that many people to come the day of the event.

“My goal is to get as many Singaporean players playing as possible – I want to see the talent in Singapore. That’s why I’m a little bit upset today because so many people crowded around, and I wanted to just make space for the Singapore athletes.”

A bird’s-eye view of the crowd who turned up to catch basketball influencer Matt Kiatipis in action at the Chinatown Complex basketball court on Oct 6. ST PHOTO: BRIAN TEO

A bird’s-eye view of the crowd who turned up to catch basketball influencer Matt Kiatipis in action at the Chinatown Complex basketball court on Oct 6.

Fan Micah Rijke, 15, who came down to Chinatown to meet Kiatipis, said: “I follow MK and I like when he does his basketball one-on-ones, and I think it’s a nice basketball community and it’s a nice atmosphere.

“Today was very hot... Everyone was trying to push him to the middle, and people weren’t listening, so he left in the end.”

Fellow fan Hugo Quinn, also 15, said: “He was trying to get everyone to come down (from the fence) because the police were there but no one listened.

“I’m not that disappointed because I understand where he’s coming from. Because no one’s listening, it’s not fun and everyone’s just being selfish.”

(From left) Fans Hugo Quinn, 15; Micah Rijke, 15; and Tuna Ekmen, 18, gathered at Chinatown Complex basketball court to see streetball influencer Matt Kiatipis on Oct 6. ST PHOTO: BRIAN TEO

(From left) Fans Hugo Quinn, 15; Micah Rijke, 15; and Tuna Ekmen, 18, gathered at Chinatown Complex basketball court to see streetball influencer Matt Kiatipis on Oct 6.

Kiatipis, who is from Newmarket, Ontario, has built a following of more than five million across Instagram and TikTok with videos of his taking on challengers in one-on-one games at outdoor courts around the world.

He played college basketball at Canada’s Simon Fraser University before transferring to a school in the United States, where the Covid-19 pandemic cut short his season.

He then had a professional stint in Costa Rica before turning to content creation.

Kiatipis has since made it his mission to establish one-on-one basketball as a sport in its own right, separate from the traditional five-a-side and 3x3 formats.

Basketball influencer Matt Kiatipis and his entourage shooting hoops with members of the public at Chinatown Complex basketball court on Oct 6. ST PHOTO: BRIAN TEO

Basketball influencer Matt Kiatipis and his entourage shooting hoops with members of the public at Chinatown Complex basketball court on Oct 6.

“I didn’t know what to expect. So to be here now, coming from Covid, that journey all in between is just a dream come true,” said Kiatipis on his rise.

“I’m bringing the community together, playing a new sport (which is) one-on-one. Before, it was like five-on-five in the street, and then I condensed it down to one-on-one, where more people could play.

“We started from the streets up into the craziest things you could possibly think of. We could be on the Chinatown rooftop in Singapore, and we’ll be in a stadium the next day, and then we’ll be in the favelas.

“There’s just so much diversity that we bring into this one sport, and we are the leaders of one-on-one basketball. In the future, I’ll want to expand one-on-one to different sports, absolutely, because we are collabing through basketball with so many different sports.”

Singapore is the second stop of his Asia tour – he was in Jakarta from Oct 1 to 3, when he held a coaching clinic and took on local players at the King of Ballers streetball event.

Despite being unable to compete in his one-on-one challenges in Chinatown, Kiatipis said he plans to have more events before he leaves the country.

“We’re looking to do some more events in Singapore while we’re here. We were only supposed to stay until Oct 9, but we are looking to extend a little bit longer and play.

“Maybe two or three more events... And now that we know there are so many people, we want to invite even more people to come, but make sure that we have some space to actually get the one-on-ones done.”

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Melvyn Teoh is a sports journalist at The Straits Times.

10月6日，篮球网红Matt Kiatipis在唐人街综合体育馆篮球场与公众互动。

发布于 2026 年 10 月 6 日晚上 11:36

更新于2026年10月7日上午10:07

- 加拿大篮球网红马特·基亚蒂皮斯取消了他在唐人街的单挑挑战赛，因为数百名球迷挤满了屋顶球场，警方被叫来维持秩序。

基亚蒂皮斯表示，他想给新加坡球员一个机会，但由于到场人数众多，场地过于拥挤，导致比赛空间不足。

- 他计划在新加坡举办更多活动，并可能延长停留时间，因为他的目标是在全球范围内推广一对一篮球运动。

新加坡——加拿大篮球网红马特·基亚蒂皮斯 (Matt Kiatipis) 于 10 月 6 日前往唐人街寻找挑战者，但遇到的对手远超他的预期，他一场比赛都没打就离开了。

数百名热情的球迷挤满了唐人街综合大楼的屋顶篮球场，由于人群过于拥挤，甚至挤进了球场，他的单挑挑战无法进行。

Kiatipis，也就是大家熟知的 MK，只来得及投几个篮，就决定取消比赛。

为了一睹这位网络名人的风采，粉丝们甚至爬上了球场周围的围栏，还有人聚集在邻近组屋的楼梯平台上，以便看得更清楚。

当他走进来时，人群中响起了“MK，MK，MK”的呼喊声，他身边簇拥着一群保安人员，身穿新加坡国家足球队粉红色客场守门员球衣，显得格外引人注目。

10月6日，众多民众聚集在唐人街综合大楼篮球场，希望能一睹篮球网红马特·基亚蒂皮斯（Matt Kiatipis）的风采。（海峡时报摄影：布莱恩·张）

10月6日，众多公众聚集在唐人街综合体育馆篮球场，希望能一睹篮球网红马特·基亚蒂皮斯的风采。

由于人群规模庞大，警方也被叫来了。在他中午通过 Instagram 快拍公布了见面地点后，人群在他约定的下午 6 点 30 分见面时间之前就已到达。

26岁的基亚蒂皮斯告诉《海峡时报》：“今天是我们在新加坡的第一天，我们本来应该比赛的，但显然今天有点混乱，我们没能比赛。”

“今天来唐人街参加活动的人真多。景色很美，人也都很兴奋，到处都是积极向上的氛围。但可惜的是，屋顶球场的空间毕竟有限。”

“新加坡警方非常友善，他们处理这件事也很得体。他们让我们玩耍，只是告诉我们不要让任何人受伤。我们只是想确保有足够的空间，让大家玩得开心。”

10月6日，在唐人街综合大楼篮球场，警察维持秩序，民众聚集在此，希望能一睹篮球网红马特·基亚蒂皮斯（Matt Kiatipis）的风采。（海峡时报摄影：布莱恩·张）

10 月 6 日，当公众聚集在唐人街综合体育馆篮球场，想要一睹篮球网红 Matt Kiatipis 的风采时，警察在场维持秩序。

基亚蒂皮斯承认，到场人数让他始料未及。

他补充道：“每次我宣布举办活动，当天最多也就来 100 人，即使在比新加坡更大的国家也是如此。”

“所以你算算账……我没想到活动当天会有​​那么多人来。”

“我的目​​标是让尽可能多的新加坡球员参赛——我想看看新加坡的人才。所以我今天有点不高兴，因为周围挤满了人，而我只想给新加坡运动员腾出空间。”

10月6日，在唐人街综合体育馆篮球场，大批球迷涌入观看篮球网红马特·基亚蒂皮斯（Matt Kiatipis）的比赛。（航拍照片：BRIAN TEO）

10 月 6 日，在唐人街综合体育馆篮球场，大批人群聚集在此观看篮球网红 Matt Kiatipis 的比赛。这是从高空俯瞰的景象。

15 岁的球迷 Micah Rijke 来到唐人街与 Kiatipis 见面，他说：“我关注 MK，我喜欢看他进行一对一的篮球比赛，我认为这里篮球氛围很好，是个不错的篮球社区。”

“今天天气很热……大家都想把他推到中间去，但没人听，所以他最后离开了。”

另一位球迷，同样15岁的雨果·奎因说：“他当时试图让大家从栅栏上下来，因为警察在那里，但没有人听他的。”

“我倒不是很失望，因为我理解他的处境。因为没人听他的话，这很不好玩，每个人都只顾自己。”

（从左至右）15岁的Hugo Quinn、15岁的Micah Rijke和18岁的Tuna Ekmen于10月6日聚集在唐人街综合大楼篮球场，观看街球网红Matt Kiatipis的比赛。（海峡时报摄影：BRIAN TEO）

（从左至右）15 岁的 Hugo Quinn、15 岁的 Micah Rijke 和 18 岁的 Tuna Ekmen 于 10 月 6 日聚集在唐人街综合体育馆篮球场，观看街头篮球网红 Matt Kiatipis 的比赛。

来自安大略省纽马克特的基亚蒂皮斯在 Instagram 和 TikTok 上发布了他在世界各地的户外球场与挑战者进行一对一比赛的视频，已经积累了超过 500 万的粉丝。

他曾在加拿大西蒙弗雷泽大学打过大学篮球，之后转学到美国的一所大学，但新冠疫情导致他的赛季提前结束。

之后他在哥斯达黎加有过一段职业经历，然后转行从事内容创作。

此后，基亚蒂皮斯将把一对一篮球确立为一项独立的运动作为自己的使命，使其与传统的五人制和三人制篮球形式区分开来。

10月6日，篮球网红马特·基亚蒂皮斯（Matt Kiatipis）及其随行人员在唐人街综合大楼篮球场与公众一起投篮。（海峡时报摄影：布莱恩·张）

10 月 6 日，篮球网红 Matt Kiatipis 和他的随行人员在唐人街综合体育馆篮球场与公众一起投篮。

“我不知道会发生什么。所以，从新冠疫情中走出来，经历了这一切，如今能站在这里，简直就像梦想成真一样，”基亚蒂皮斯在谈到自己的崛起时说道。

“我正在把社区凝聚在一起，开展一项新的运动——一对一。以前，街头是五对五的比赛，后来我把它简化成一对一，这样更多的人就可以参与其中了。”

“我们从街头起步，去做你能想象到的最疯狂的事情。我们可能今天还在新加坡唐人街的屋顶上，明天就出现在体育场里，然后明天又会回到贫民窟。”

“我们为这项运动带来了如此丰富的多样性，而且我们是单挑篮球的领军者。未来，我肯定会将单挑篮球拓展到其他运动项目中，因为我们正通过篮球与其他许多运动项目进行合作。”

新加坡是他亚洲之旅的第二站——10 月 1 日至 3 日，他来到雅加达，举办了一场教练训练营，并在“篮球之王”街头篮球赛事中与当地球员切磋球技。

尽管无法参加唐人街的一对一挑战赛，Kiatipis 表示，他计划在离开该国之前参加更多赛事。

“我们计划在新加坡期间举办更多活动。我们原本只打算待到10月9日，但我们想延长一些时间，多玩玩。”

“或许还会举办两到三场活动……既然现在我们知道有这么多人参加，我们想邀请更多的人来，但也要确保我们有足够的空间来进行一对一的交流。”

通过《海峡时报》的每周新闻简报，深入了解新加坡的所有体育赛事和趋势。

Melvyn Teoh是《海峡时报》的体育记者。