Philippine esports, game developer bodies come in as Predator League partners

MANILA, Philippines – Unlike the country's hosting of the Asia Pacific Predator League in 2020, the upcoming tournament in January 2024 will see Acer Philippines partner with the Philippine Esports Organization (PESO) and the Game Developers Association of the Philippines (GDAP).

"To mount this kind of project, we really need partnership and coordination with different stakeholders. Partnering with PESO and GDAP, they help us. If kaming Predator lang, we have a small voice. With our partners, it will really assemble the help needed, especially when it comes to resources that the Philippine Esports Community needs para magkaroon ng platform for this community," said Acer Philippines general manager Sue Ong-Lim.

In 2020, the country's hosting of the Asia Pacific Predator League was marred by the COVID-19 pandemic. The tournament was rescheduled to 2021 and would be done fully online. Fortunately, the Philippines was given another chance to host the tournament.

"The passion to create a world class esports stage still burns within us, and Predator Gaming Philippines stands confident in delivering on this promise," said Ong-Lim.

GDAP Chairman Alvin Juban shared how Philippine esports owed a debt of gratitude to Acer Philippines back in 2019 when the country hosted the 30th Southeast Asian Games — the first edition of the biennial meet to have an esports category.

"We had to assemble the esports program for the 2019 SEA Games. We had a budget. My role, I was the first national team manager for SIBOL, basically tagahanap ng pera. With weeks counting down, we realized we made a fatal mistake, wala kaming PC. We were able to raise funds from sponsors, support from other local stakeholders pero we didn't have the equipment we needed. Then, lo and behold, I was told that 2019 Asia Pacific Predator League equipment just landed in the Philippines and [became] available for us. Not many people know that our first batch of SEA Games medals is thanks to Acer-Predator," recalled Juban.

Like they have done since then, Acer-Philippines' partnership with PESO and GDAP is a renewal of the brand's commitment in pursuing esports and gaming excellence in the country.

"[We have] remained steadfast in our relentless pursuit in esports excellence in the country. The Philippine esports community has the capabilities, competence and talent, ang problem is the opportunity to show it to the international scene. It’s this kind of partnership that we really need to continue to foster the growth of the esports industry across the country and Asia-Pacific," said Ong-Lim.