128 teams duke it out in Unity League esports tourney

MANILA, Philippines – The biggest esports event in the country will be held with the launching of the Unity League: Mobile Legends Tournament next month.

The P3.5-million event, which has begun to attract a huge number of gamers nationwide, kicks off with its National Capital Region phase on April 20-21, while similar legs will also be held in Luzon, Visayas and Mindanao.

The a (PESO), which spearheads the tournament in partnership with PTV 4, announced in the Philippine Sportswriters Association (PSA) Forum on Tuesday that a total of 128 teams had already registered for the NCR qualifiers. 

“We will have the online phase kasi 128 teams ang magbabakbakan. And yung walong matitira, magte-taping for the live studio setup courtesy of PTV-4,” said PESO project manager Victor Cabuay, adding the online phase will be held April 20-21, while the onsite taping is set April 27-28.

The other schedules will have Northern Luzon on May 4-5 (online) and May 11-12 (onsite), Southern Luzon on May 18-19 (online) and May 25-26 (onsite), Visayas on June 1-2 (online) and June 8-9 (onsite), while Mindanao on June 15-16 (online) and May 22-23 (onsite).

The top two teams from each region are going to play in the grand finals set July 5-7.

PESO executive director Marlon Marcelo also said in the same session — presented by San Miguel Corporation, Philippine Sports Commission, Philippine Olympic Committee, PLDT/Smart, MILO, and the 24/7 sports app in the country ArenaPlus — that gamers 15-and-above are allowed to participate in the all-amateur tournament.

Initially, the age limit was pegged at 18-and-above.

“OK na rin sa 15 (years old) kasi on the side, the responsibility is there,” said Marcelo, while adding the meet also serves as tryouts for possible inclusion to the national team, which accepts members 16 years old and above.

“As an NSA, one of the things that we wanted to do is to promote esports responsibly kasi maraming bad connotations initially (ang esports). And we wanted to remove that connotation.”

The PESO official noted that currently there are 43 million gamers in the Philippines, and that out of the figures, 55% are in the youth market.