Yearender: 'Taon Ng Tagumpay' cements Philippine esports legacy

MANILA, Philippines – Achievements defined esports in 2023 as both the Philippines’ esports team, Sibol, and local professional esports teams secured numerous esports accolades throughout the year.

But even with the wins, esports and gaming had a rollercoaster year with the return of onsite activities that left most people disappointed, the resurgence of fan favorite titles, and the spotlight on game developers and marginalized players. Here's a look at what happened in esports and gaming for 2023.

Disappointing onsite events

With all events finally getting a greenlight to be fully onsite, many Filipinos were disappointed with many esports and gaming events in the country.

From esports tournaments seeing production issues for both onsite and online spectators, to overselling of tickets and not thoroughly planned venue layouts, Filipino fans were severely disappointed with many events this year.

One such event that made headlines was CONQuest 2023, which became “Pilacon” (line convention) as dubbed by many Filipinos online. The three-day gaming and pop culture festival boasted a star-studded lineup with famous voice actors, streamers and musicians all making their way to Manila. But the weekend of celebration turned into a nightmare for con-goers, with most ticket holders not even reaching the entrance of the SMX Convention Center as the lines snaked throughout the streets surrounding the area.

Another event that Filipinos were excited about was the 10th edition of the Electronic Sports and Gaming Summit (ESGS), which saw the resurgence of League of Legends in the Philippines. Though the Empyrean Cup was met with favorable response, the event itself was criticized by many for its venue and layout choice, particularly by artists online. The artist alley, as many independent artists pointed out, seemed to have been ignored by the organizers and was not marketed properly while the choice of the World Trade Center as the venue versus SMX Convention Center also drew criticism as it was not as commuter-friendly. The latter, with a lack of restaurants nearby, forced everyone to clump together in the food stalls inside the venue.

Resurgence of League of Legends and Teamfight Tactics

Despite the disappointing outings of anticipated events, other esports and gaming titles made a comeback after falling silent during the years of the pandemic: League of Legends and Teamfight Tactics.

League of Legends saw a jump in popularity as Riot Games took over publishing rights for the game at the beginning of 2023. The country saw its first local League of Legends tournament — the Empyrean Cup — last November, contributing to the resurgence of the game in the country.

"The [local] League of community is pretty much alive and well, parang siyang sleeping dragon na biglang nagising pero it's still there,” said Riot Games Philippines’ brand manager for MOBA (Multiplayer Online Battle Arena) Kimi Salazar after the success of the Empyrean Cup.

Besides League of Legends, Teamfight Tactics also made waves as the mobile version of the game finally reached the Asia-Pacific region with the launch of Teamfight Tactics Mobile last November. 

"When we finally got publishing rights for League of Legends, there were a lot of folks who were commenting 'TFT mobile when?' It's a strong indication of Riot's dedication to their players' here in the Philippines that the same year we get publishing rights, we also launch mobile. There were a lot of people who pre-registered and it was super exciting to see [the reception]," said Joel Guzman, Riot Games Philippines country manager.

Esports for all

Esports made history once more as it was included as a demo sport in the 12th ASEAN Para Games last June, the first time it was incorporated into a sporting conference for athletes with disabilities.

Unlike traditional sports, esports is an event that could easily be accessible to all — a mission that Moonton Games hopes to do with its corporate social responsibility arm, Moonton Cares.

“The vision of Moonton Cares is to enable everyone to achieve, and access esports and gaming. We noticed that there are many talents in the PWD communities, and we wanted to be the platform for more PWD talents and players to be seen," said Moonton Cares Director Theon Hsu.

The demo esports event during the ASEAN Para Games was Mobile Legends Bang Bang, where the Philippines finished No. 1.

Besides giving persons with disability the chance to become national and professional athletes in esports, Moonton Cares saw a sign-language interpreter being used for the very first time during the M5 World Championship broadcast while M5 exclusive merchandise were provided by  social enterprise, Handcrafted by Harl’s, which employs persons with disabilities.

Spotlight on game developers

The year saw its very first event dedicated to game developers in the country — the Philippine GameDev Expo (PGDX) — last August.

In the Philippines, game developers, particularly independent game developers, have been a presence in different esports and gaming conventions but not as the main event. PGDX trained the spotlight on game developers, enabling more Filipinos to see and understand what happens for a game to come to life.

"Ang gagaling ng mga Pinoy [developers]. Wala lang talagang platform na ma-highlight sila. When we're travelling to GamesCon and Taipei Game Show, you can see that Indie Game Developers have more space and are being valued. Here in the Philippines, they are participating in local conventions but normally it's just tables and no one really tries their games," said Jojo Calma, CEO and founder of CBZN Perspective, PGDX's organizer.

PGDX hosted 50 independent artists during their event with most of the independent game developers seeing positive reception for their game demos. Seeing the success of the event this year, Calma and CBZN Perspective hope to continue bringing the spotlight to game developers, especially giving more opportunities for game developers in Visayas and Mindanao.

'Taon Ng Tagumpay' for Philippine esports

2023 will go down in history as the Philippines esports' most successful year. The country's national esports team, Sibol, had dubbed the team's 2023 campaign as “Taon Ng Tagumpay” as they hoped to bring glory to the country after participating in three different competitions: the 32nd Southeast Asian Games in Cambodia, the 15th World Esports Championship in Romania and the 19th Asian Games in China.

In their first test at the 32nd SEA Games, Sibol defended its gold medal in the men's category of Mobile Legends Bang Bang and won another gold in the Wild Rift category. The squad also secured podium finishes in all esports titles it participated in: bringing home a total medal haul of six medals: two golds, one silver and three bronzes.

Sibol then went on and posted a gold and silver finish in Mobile Legends Bang Bang and Tekken 7, respectively, in the 15th World Esports Championship organized by the International Esports Federation. The two podium finishes were enough for Sibol to be named grand champion among 111 countries that participated. 

But the momentum halted as Sibol faced its toughest challenge yet — the 19th Asian Games. Out of the six esports events the Philippines competed in, Sibol representatives were mostly eliminated in the group stages, only reaching the playoffs in the Dream Three Kingdom event, where they eventually placed fifth overall.

Many counted the Asiad defeat as the final dot on Sibol's Taon Ng Tagumpay, only for the Philippine esports body to receive a surprise last November when the International Esports Federation announced the first ever National Federation of the Year Award. The citation recognizes the effort, dedication, passion, and embodiment of the federation's values by its member organization. Among 144 countries, the Philippines won the first ever National Federation of the Year Award, solidifying the future of esports in the country.

But besides the country's national esports team, Filipino professional esports players all racked up successes throughout the year.

Female Valorant players Kelly "shirazi" Jaudian, Alexandria "Alexy" Francisco, and Camille "Kamiyu" Enriquez with their organization, Team SMG, finished fourth overall in the 2023 Valorant Game Changers in Sao Paulo, Brazil while Filipino Wild Rift team, Nigma Galaxy prevented an all Chinese team grand final in the Wild Rift Asia League 2023 Season 1 and finished silver.

Filipino imports in the Mobile Legends Bang Bang esports scene saw multiple accomplishments. Malaysia saw Filipino player Jon "Super Red" Bordeos of Red Giants Esports awarded the league's best goldlaner, while RSG Malaysia’s Jonard "Demonkite" Caranto was awarded best jungler and was voted as the league's regular season MVP. In Indonesia, jungler Kairi "Kairi" Rayosdelsol of ONIC Esports was voted as the league's regular season MVP and best jungler, while Filipino coach Paul "Yeb" Miranda was named Coach of the Season. Filipino players Michael "MP the King" Endino and Clarense "Kousei" Camilo, who helped their Cambodian team, See You Soon, win it all in MPL Cambodia while Filipino coach Kenneth "Flysolo" Coloma also and his team Deus Vult ruled the MLBB Continental Championships (MCC) and made history as the first European team to finish in the top four of the Mobile Legends Bang World Championships.

But the biggest win for Filipino esports, as what many would describe as the best ending for 2023 was when Filipino champions, coincidentally Sibol's Mobile Legends Bang Bang gold-medal roster, AP.Bren won the M5 World Championships while the country hosted the Mobile Legends Bang Bang World Championships. The team made history as the first to have two world titles to their name as well as the first to win in front of a home crowd.

Making Manila as the final stop on the team's world tour, players Angelo "Phewww" Arcangel, David Charles "FlapTzy" Canon, Michael Angelo "KyleTzy" Sayson, Marco Stephen "SUPER MARCO" Requitano, Rowgien Stimpson "Owgwen" Unigo, with coaches Francis "Duckeyyy" Glindro and Vrendon "Vrendon Lin" Pesebre, started their golden campaign with a win in Cambodia, followed by another gold in Romania and finally lifting the M5 trophy in front of a packed Rizal Memorial Coliseum to close out a year of triumphs in Philippine esports.