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| (From left to right): 2019 SEA Games chef de mission Monsour del Rosario, Philsgoc executive director Ramon Suzara, Philsgoc chairman Alan Peter Cayetano, Razer CEO Min Liang Tan, SEAGF executive committee chairman Celso Dayrit and TV5 Network Inc. president and CEO Vincent "Chot" Reyes (Image Source; Philstar.com/Joey Mendoza) |
The
countdown to the upcoming 2019 Southeast Asian Games has already began and
probably one of the many things we should delightfully expect from what should
be the biggest and maybe the most grandest sporting events of the year is the surprisingly
intriguing addition of eSports to the list of the event's official disciplines.
What took place prior to the start of the countdown has been quite a surprise
for me, but I guess the local eSports industry should benefit from this matter.
The
professional gaming scene is starting to gain its own strong traction in the
Philippines due to the success of the likes of TNC, Mineski, Execration, and
PBE Doujin in international competitions as well as the successful staging of
Galaxy Battles and Globe Conquerors Manila in the country and the localized
live broadcast of The International 2018 dubbed as Sanduguan. It feels like
that the country is becoming all in on what has been witnessed by millions around
the world, and eSports in the upcoming SEA Games will be like a definitive
culmination to the local scene's rousing peak.
Officially
sanctioned by the Southeast Asian eSports Federation (AESF), the eSports discipline
in the 2019 Southeast Asian Games hosted by the Philippines will have pro
gamers from different parts of the region gather and compete for pride and
glory in two PC games, two mobile games and two console games. A few days after
the announcement of the eSports inclusion, Mobile Legends has been officially
confirmed as the first eSports game in the regional biennial affair. Five more
eSports titles will surely be announced in the coming months so stay trubed to
your social media accounts and keep updated.
Anyway,
the 2019 SEA Games Organizing Committee has officially tapped globally renouned
gaming store brand Razer as its partner for the eSports competitions that will
take their own center stage next year. Plus, TV5 Network Inc. will have a huge
role in this new endeavor as stated by Organizing Committee head Alan Peter
Cayetano once it officially secures rights to air the 2018 SEA Games on Philippine
television. In case you don't know, TV5 is set to broadcast the Philippines'
first franchise model professional gaming league known as The Nationals by next
year.
