Sibol eyes 7 esports gold medals in Hanoi SEA Games

MANILA, Philippines – Sibol, the Philippines' esports national team, has set a lofty target for themselves for the 31st Southeast Asian Games in Hanoi.

After a 50% success rate in the biennial meet in Manila where they won three out of a possible six gold medals, Sibol continues to up the ante.

Now, with 10 gold medals up for grabs, the country wants to go above and beyond.

"Realistically speaking, I'm expecting a little higher — around 70% at least," said SIBOL overall head coach Ralph Andrei "Leathergoods" Llabres on Thursday.

"We'll perform better," he said.

Sibol will be competing in all 10 events in Hanoi: League of Legends, FIFA Online 4, CrossFire, League of Legends: Wild Rift (men's and women's), Arena of Valor, PUBG Mobile (individual and team), Garena Free Fire and Mobile Legends: Bang.

The Philippines already took a gold medal in MLBB in 2019.

While the other titles where the Philippines took gold — Dota 2 and Starcraft II — will not be in the lineup, Llabres remains confident in his team.

"Though, unfortunately some of the games kasi aren't as big kasi here in the Philippines so our exposure is a little low. But we're still expecting the best from our athletes," he said.

The Philippines will send a 64-member delegation to Hanoi for esports.

Included in the lineup are MLBB M3 Champions Blacklist International and all-female team Grind Sky Eris for League of Legends: Wild Rift.