ON THE RADAR, GAMING | June 24, 2020
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| (Image Source: Cebu Finest/Team Liyab eSports) |
As the Philippines continue to grapple with the far-reaching effects of the coronavirus pandemic, the world of competitive gaming has proven to be an ally to medical frontliners working on the front lines. Taking the online gaming arena to another level, Globe Telecom has successfully rallied professional gaming athletes, streamers and fans of the hit MMORPG League Of Legends (LoL) through its co-owned eSports team Liyab to raise over Php500,000 in cash for the Philippine Heart Center (PHC) as part of its COVID-19 relief and recovery efforts.
It was made possible through StarForge, an online charity streaming event co-organized by Liyab and eSports AcadArena, the largest campus eSports initiative in the Philippines. During the two-week affair held last April 17-26, Liyab participated in online community team matches, held entertaining podcasts and interact with fans and members of the local gaming community. It all culminated in a major event featuring a best-of-three All-Star Showdown between teams headed by Liyab's Kang "Kurd" Yeonghwan and Edrian "DoeDoii" Brancia in which Team Kurd ultimately emerged victorious.
Throughout the donation of the event, Globe donated cash upon meeting certain milestones. For every kill of an opposing player, dragon or baron takedown, the telco would add Php1,000 to the fund. In funding upfront, Globe also donated Php100,000 to further show its support towards the gaming community's initiative. With the help of various partners, Globe raised a total of Php523,000 for PHC through StarForge. Dr. Gerardo S. Manzo, PHC Incident Command Post Deputy Executive Director, expressed his heartfelt gratitude to Globe, Team Liyab and eSports gaming enthusiasts who have contributed to the initative considering that it gives inspiration to know that there are those who are supporting every medical frontliner in the country continuously battling the onslaught of COVID-19.
With the success of StarForge, Globe and Team Liyab remain committed to support more eSports initiatives that aim to connect and empower the local gaming communities and provide support during these unprecedented and unfortunate times. "During these stressful times where typical sports are no longer available, it is inspiring to see how eSports created innovative and collaborative avenues to bring people together and provide much-needed entertainment to lift morale," said Jill Bausa-Go, Globe Telecom Content Business Group Vice-President.
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Mobile Legends Bang Bang (MLBB) developer Moonton has raised more than Php1 million during its month-long celebration from winnings, auctions and games which will be for the benefit of Save The Children Philippines which would surely contribute well to the organization's response to help unfortunate children across different parts of the country amidst the continuing threat and far-reaching effects of the COVID-19 pandemic.
"We would like to thank Moonton, Rumble Royale and every MLBB gamer as well as their supporters who helped raise funds during the Crazy Legends Charity Homestand," said Riel Andaluz Sr., Save The Children PH Corporate Partnerships Manager. "It is overwhelming to see gamers give their best to play but for the cause of battling COVID-19. This unprecedented emergency really impacted the lives of everyone, and they need our help. We are happy that Moonton considered to direct its support to help children and families through Save The Children Philippines. William Mei, MLBB Philippines Marketing Manager, stated that it is their duty to the community to help the needy most especially the kids and they are proud of the overwhelming response from the local gaming community in coming together to support such cause.
Meanwhile, winners and participants of the MLBB 515 events have received and collected in-game prizes and a free hero apart from playing a significant part in raising funds for the kids. Physical rewards amounting to 10 Nintendo Switch units, Airpods and 20 Beats Solo headphones were also given away while a total of Php300,000 prize pool was awarded to the winners of the first online intercity tournament entitled Community Hero: City Rival. Mobile Legends Bang Bang's 515 celebration totalled US$1,447,393,655 in global event rewards and prizes with 48,253,100 participants from around the world.
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The fifth season of the Mobile Legends Professional League officially came to a close with viewership records in the Philippines and Indonesia gaining new records and exceeding those of the previous season. In fact, MPL-PH Season 5 eventually became the most watched eSports event in the country because of its new record. Highly regarded as the most watched season in the league's history, MPL has taken an all-around huge leap for Mobile Legends Bang Bang and its developer Moonton.
The MPL-PH Season 5 finals match between ONIC PH and Sunsparks brought in a peak viewership of 317,330 viewers. On the other hand, in Indonesia, it was the RRQ vs. EVOS match at the MPL-ID Season 5 playoffs that saw record-breaking numbers as the highly-anticipated virtual encounter saw its viewership peaked at 702,689. These numbers would only be toppled when RRQ captured the MPL-ID championship crown in an epic grand finale where its viewership crossed and broke the one million mark. As mobile gaming maintains its upward trajectory, the eSports scene for MLBB continues to grow and these record-breaking numbers prove that the game is not going anywhere. The question in anyone's mind is, will you stay around for MPL Season 6?
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Ever since the 2019-2020 season of the NBA was put on hold because of the COVID-19 pandemic, basketball fans around the world are undoubtedly clamoring for its resumption which is slated to start by the end of July. For NBA fans who are into eSports, the NBA 2K League at least pushed through as its new season tipped off last May 5th. Southeast Asian basketball and eSports fans can now enjoy every piece of the virtual ballin' action as the NBA 2K League is now being aired on eGG Network for the first time in the region.
Recently began with Week 6 of the regular season, the NBA 2K League games will be broadcast on eGG in Malaysia, Singapore, Thailand, Philippines, Indonesia, Myanmar and Australia all the way to the Season Finals. Aside from the remaining regular season games and the upcoming playoffs, eGG is also slated to air the league's in-season tournaments namely THE TIPOFF, THE TURN and THE TICKET. For more information and schedules on the NBA 2K League 2020 season, visit www.egg.network and eGG Network's official Facebook and Instagram pages.
In case you don't know, the NBA 2K League is the first official eSports league operated by a US professional sports team which currently has 23 teams competing in the 2020 season including 2019 champions T-Wolves Gaming and runners-up 76ers GC as well as Shanghai's Gen.G Tigers. The league is a joint venture of NBA and NBA 2K publisher Take Two Interactive Software Inc. Follow @NBA2KLeague on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram for more updates on the league and the teams. Aside from eGG Network, the games of the NBA 2K League can be streamed either live or on-demand on YouTube and Twitch.
