A HORDE of college students, male and female, were busy like bees playing mobile legends on their smartphones with earphones plugged in their ears during their free time at a cafeteria on a cold and rainy Saturday outside Lyceum in Intramuros.
It’s a common sight these days as more and more Filipinos turn to esports as an upstart game where a slew of skills could be developed, foremost among them teamwork and discipline.
While the sport’s popularity continues to rise in the country where schools like Lyceum offer an esports course, the national team Sibol has also proven its worth as one of the best in the world.
But for Philippine Esports Organization executive director Marlon Marcelo, Sibol can only get better after AP Bren-backed gamers punctuated their campaign last year by winning it all in the Mobile Legends: Bang Bang event over erstwhile champion Indonesia and taking silver in Tekken 7 in the International Esports Federation 15th World Esports Championship in Iasi, Romania.
“Our federation is ecstatic and proud that out of 111 countries present for the world championships last year, we came out on top,” Marcelo told Malaya-Business Insight. “It’s a testament to the hardworking Sibol athletes who dedicated themselves to pursuing excellence in their chosen esports titles.
“Expect the same or more passion and intensity that our athletes will put into their training pushing for sustained excellence because we still want to be the best in the world,” he added.
Sibol also shone in the 32nd Southeast Asian Games in Cambodia, with its men’s team capturing two gold medals (League of Legends: Wild Rift and Mobile Legends: Bang Bang) and a silver from the women’s side in Mobile Legends: Bang Bang, while taking three bronze medals in Valorant, Crossfire, and PUBG: Mobile’s individual event.
Propped up by those riveting triumphs, PeSO was named the national federation of the year in 2023 which is only fitting for all their blood, sweat, and tears, according to Marcelo.
“We have won the 2023 national federation award out of 140 countries worldwide,” the amiable Marcelo said. “That speaks a lot for our federation, plus the support of private and government support has been there to help us in our 2023 campaign.”
Indonesia emerged as a bridesmaid, while Saudi Arabia, Argentina, and Mongolia wound up third, fourth, and fifth, respectively.
Naysayers and unbelievers, however, insisted taking up esports is more of a bane than a boon.
Marcelo maintained there’s a whale of difference between gaming addiction and esports.
“Esports is different from gaming addiction. All our athletes are trained to practice responsible gaming,” he said.
“The general public is becoming more aware that esports is one of the highest forms of competitive gaming and different from just playing long hours of video games.”
Over at a train of the newly-built LRT-2 Masinag station, two University belt students were glued on their mobile phones–one playing Valorant, while the other was watching one of Sibol’s outings in the world tilt.
Esports is everywhere and if they promote good and beneficial things to people and make the Philippines proud in the international arena, it should continue to thrive.
