All set for Unity League

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

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

“We will have the online phase because 128 teams will compete. The eight remaining teams will tape their matches for the live studio setup courtesy of PTV-4,” said PESO project manager Victor Cabuay, adding the online phase will be held on 20 and 21 April, while the onsite taping is set on 27 and 28 April.

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

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

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.

“It’s okay for 15 (years old) on the side because 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 because it has a lot of bad connotations 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 percent are in the youth market.