'Keeb Showdown', an in-person keyboard customisation competition and the first of its kind in Bangladesh, was held on October 6 at the BCS Computer City. Local enthusiast groups called MechaBoards BD and PC Builder Bangladesh jointly organised this event as a part of the City IT Mega Fair 2023.

The unique event had local enthusiasts of the country gathering to share their unified love of keyboards.

There were a total of 40 custom-built keyboards competing at the end for the top 3 position. The prizes included BDT 6k for the first position, BDT 4k for the second position, and a barebones keyboard kit for the third position winners. Before this, the 'Keeb Showdown' contest was hosted online in May 2022 by MechaBoards BD on their Facebook group. This is the first time they have partnered to organise an in-person keyboard competition. This unique event also doubled as a keyboard meet, where local keyboard enthusiasts brought their keyboards to a community gathering. 

'Keeb Showdown' featured customised keyboards from fans all over the country.

"Founded in September 2021, The MechaBoards BD is the only keyboard enthusiast-driven community in Bangladesh that has no barrier of entry," says Samiul Alam, admin of MechaBoards BD. The community has 21,000 members on their Facebook group and is active in providing helpful suggestions for members in buying the best keyboards or building keyboards on their own.

Unique keyboards from local fans adorned the one-of-a-kind event.

Samiul explains that this event was a major step towards actualising the pursuit of the community in bringing like-minded 'keyboard nerds' together. At the competition, the keyboards were judged on two categories - how unique they look and how good they sound. "People had to stay up late at night to finish their build," shares Samiul.

Malik Zubayer U. Haider won the competition with his customised keyboard named Tofu 60.

A local keyboard enthusiast named Malik Zubayer U. Haider earned the first position in the competition. Bhubon Ahmed achieved the second position, and Aurnib Ahmed and Mahmuz Safin tied for the third position.

"The board I worked on was really hard to tune and shape to perfection. But with the knowledge I gathered from all the like-minded enthusiasts around me, I put everything at stake for my board," shares Malik. According to him, it was "an otherworldly feeling" to see all his hard work put into shape and ultimately win the grand prize.

Bhubhon Ahmed's keyboard named Doio Gamer64 grabbed the second place prize in the competition. Looks a lot like a Nintendo Switch!

Bhubon shares, "I got to meet lots of like-minded people and had a blast." He explains that he went to the event to meet the community that has grown around keyboards over the years. "I am super happy and proud of how far the community has come," he adds.

Regarding the growing enthusiasm for keyboard customisation in Bangladesh, Ifat Al Baqee, another admin of MechaBoards BD, explains, "The hobby of mechanical keyboards is like a lego building hobby for tech enthusiasts." According to him, getting a good typing feel and experience is essential for those who spend most of their time on computer-based works such as gaming, content writing, and freelancing.