E-sports taking off
One of the under-explored facets of the Internet for most people over 40 is online gaming. As always, the youth have been the first to navigate the new worlds created to give them an outlet for their energy – and often frustration – with the real world. On the 1980’s, roleplaying games were boards with cards and multifaceted dice that guided you along on your quests. In the last decade and a half, that has become more complex, as graphics, plots and interconnection have sped up the game, so to speak. This is where hundreds of millions of youth around the world spend their sleepless nights, in a reality their parents may never understand, where they can be conquerors or rebels of any kind.
Arguably, the biggest online game that has permeated Philippine society is DotA (cumbersomely named Defense of the Ancients). First released in 2002 after springing from the User Map Settings (UMS) of Aeon of Strife, it gradually gained popularity among online gamers, who found the complex map endlessly entertaining. In March of 2005, World Cyber Games introduced the first DotA tournament. In the following months of the same year, major tournaments hosted by manufacturers and electronic sports leagues. The following year, Cyberathlete Professional League hosted the first DotA tournament in China. This catapulted the game into a regional and global obsession.
Initially, players merely played for mastery, a chance to be with their friends, and as a form of rebellion. Now, however, the game is part of the larger landscape of professional competition, with prize money that is no laughing matter. There is, in fact, an ongoing search for an Asian team that can compete with the rest of the world.
Purpose Win Entertainment Limited (PWEL), an e-sports company based in Hong Kong and Malaysia that organizes international tournaments, set the stage this week for Filipino gamers to get in on the action. In partnership with Malaysian e-sports marketing company Fallout Gaming, they have opened the door for local gamers to join New Blood Championships, a search for the next generation of DotA champions from Asia.
“The market for South East Asian eSports has been growing rapidly, it is the second largest market in the world,” said PWEL project director Sky Lim at the project launch earlier this week. “Many players in the region are qualified to compete with the rest of the world. So we are looking forward to creating a ‘Shining Star’ South East Asian team that will have the ability to take part at the world stage of any e-sports tournament.”
The two companies recently completed Galaxy Battles, an international DotA tournament which staked a pot of US$150,000 in front of a crowd of 12,000 in Shenzhen, China in June. New Blood Championships is specifically targeting exposure for amateur Southeast Asian players. Pros and tier one players are prohibited from joining. Prizes totaling US$40,000 and slots to the second season of Galaxy Battles will be staked. There will be online country qualifiers, onground country finals, and of course, the New Blood Championships main event in Jakarta, which will include one team from each country qualifier and the “Rest of SEA” qualifier. The top two will proceed to the Galaxy Battles main event in the Philippines on January of 2018.
“Building platforms that allow aspiring, competitive athletes to further their careers is the ultimate goal,” says Fallout Gaming founder and managing director Adrian Gaffor. “Forging partnerships with PWEL and High Grounds only helps to accelerate our vision.”
Meanwhile, in another development, a three-way international partnership is taking the lead in propelling e-sports in the Philippines forward. TNC Gaming, SYBER and High Grounds Cafe signed a memorandum of understanding to promote e-sports not just in the Philippines, but also in Indonesia, Malaysia and China. TNC Gaming is the country’s top e-sports organization, while SYBER is a Malaysian e-sports outlet. High Grounds Café is the first and only fully branded, high-end gaming café in the Philippines. SYBER and High Grounds Cafe will merge in this effort, while TNC Gaming will power the pair by handling gaming teams and organizing tournaments.
With these two efforts directly and indirectly helping one another, Filipino gamers will finally have a helping hand in leaping onto the Asian and world stage. All those sleepless night will finally pay off in real money and real fame.