League of Legends enjoys local resurgence

MANILA, Philippines — With the conclusion of the Empyrean Cup — the country’s first official League of Legends tournament since Riot Games took over publishing rights of the title for Southeast Asia — the local League of Legends community has seen an upward trajectory after slowing down the past few years.

For Guardian’s Hive champion, Support player Marc Jazztine Barrion, League of Legends is slowly making its way back to the hearts of Filipino players.

“Since po nagkapandemic dun po siya humina kasi po yung mga computer shops nagsara. Then lumabas po yung Wild Rift (mobile game) tapos yung ibang players lumipat. Buti po ngayon bumabalik siya and yun nga po nadidiscover na po yung ibang players. Hoping po sa coming tournaments pa po,” Barrion said in an interview after winning the Empyrean Cup. 

When it was first announced, the Empyrean Cup generated high interest back to League of Legends, with the 256 slots for the tournament getting filled in only a couple of days.

“We've seen the impact the Empyrean Cup was able to generate. When we launched the Empyrean Cup, when people found out that League of Legends is finally back, it created a whirlpool of positive sentiment. The momentum was there,” acknowledged Joel Guzman, Riot Games Philippines country manager.

As Riot Games Philippines sees it, the recently concluded Empyrean Cup is “Step Zero” in bringing League of Legends to what it was before, and they hope to reestablish a solid foundation for the community and create a strong and diverse competitive esports scene for the game in the country.

“Since na-establish yung Riot Games Philippines, we've been constantly listening to what the community has been saying, what the players are saying. We want everyone to know that we hear you, we're listening and that is why we're doing this now. Empyrean Cup is but the first that we're going to do for the community. The Philippines is a priority market for APAC for League of Legends. We will continue to invest, not just next year but for a couple of years, to elevate the community of League of Legends. We have more in store,” said Riot Games Philippines’ brand manager for MOBA (Multiplayer Online Battle Arena) Kimi Salazar.

Having seen the impact that the Empyrean Cup generated, Salazar shared how inspiring it was to see the community come alive.

“It's very inspiring for us to see that competitive drive, that spirit of people to still compete for League, to really have that drive, is very inspiring for us. It's a good sign and it says that the League of community is pretty much alive and well, parang siyang sleeping dragon na biglang nagising pero it's still there,” she added.

With the conclusion of the Empyrean Cup, all eyes are now on the current League of Legends World Championship, with Riot Games Philippines hosting a watch party in Cubao on November 19.

But fans and players alike are hoping that one day, we would be watching and cheering Filipino players as they compete on the world stage.

“There's still a lot of partnerships and systems that we have to put in place to make sure that the Philippine community is ready to take on the international stage. All I can say is, for the players, now is the time to build that skill. Now is the time to train for the international stage so that the moment we open the doors, the moment we have that opportunity, ready na tayo sumabak. Ready na tayo against international teams. Our priority is to elevate our players. So when that time comes and we have that path to worlds, ready and Pilipinas to compete,” shared Salazar.