PATTERNED after the process of selecting standouts for the national Palarong Pambansa, promising and talented video gamers in the countryside will now have another vehicle to showcase their skills through the inaugural E-Palarong Pambansa.
“This will create more opportunities for the Filipino youth to participate and earn in the multi-million dollar video game industry,” E-Palarong Pambansa organizer Jaymart Montehermoso said during the press launch of the ambitious project the other day at the Orchid Suites Hotel in Malate.
Joining him in the press briefing was Singapore-based Andy Koh, chief executive officer of GEMS, which will be the internet platform to be used as the arena for the video gamers.
Montehermoso said the project has the support of the National Youth Commission and aims to tap the Sanggunian Kabataan nationwide network to identify the youth who will form the teams that will join the inaugural season of the competition.
Similar to the Palaro structure, the participants will go through a selection process starting from the barangay, town, city, district, provincial and the national levels, whose national finals is scheduled to be held in Montehermoso’s hometown of Iloilo City in August.
Montehermoso said they intend to enlist the help of the Sangguniang Kabataang heads spread through the country’s 1,634 towns and cities in forming teams that will go through an elimination process starting June until they reach the E-Palarong Pambansa national finals in August.
Given their popularity and familiarity among local Filipino , Kho and Montehermoso said that Mobile Legends Bangbang, Call of Duty and League of Legends Wildrift will be the mobile phone events while the PC games are League of Legends and Valorant.
They said Filipino video gamers have proven they are among the best in the world “and it has been proven that video gaming can be a sustainable career.
“Our national athletes have performed well in the international scene and it was proven that esports can become a sustainable career,” Montehermoso noted. “This can be emulated in the local setting, and the winners will have more opportunity to climb higher grounds in esports.”
With the help of sponsors and supporters, he said they intend to put up cash prizes for the participants of the qualifying competitions all the way to the finals.
