Philippine esports body upbeat on future after successful SEA Games bid

MANILA, Philippines — The Philippines’ national esports team Sibol may have started flat in their 31st Southeast Asian Games campaign, but they eventually picked up the pace.

They found their stride and finished strong with two golds and two silvers — ending their Hanoi campaign third in the rankings with a total of four medals. The overall esports medal tally in the Southeast Asian Games saw the Philippines still at first place with a total of nine medals: five gold, three silvers and a bronze.

In an interview with Philstar.com, Sibol general manager Jab Escutin and Philippine Esports Organization (PESO) executive director Marlon “Lon” Marcelo admitted that the results of the recently concluded SEA Games were more or less as what they expected.

“We were very happy that the results that we expected were the ones that we have and for the ones that we did not win, we were pleasantly surprised because we had a better performance than expected. One really good surprise [was] from our League of Legends team and of course yung performance rin nung PUBG Mobile teams,” shared Escutin.

Besides the performances, Escutin lauded the Sibol athletes’ flexibility in dealing with the ever-changing Games schedule, with some events’ timetables being announced on the same day of competition.

“The SEA Games were very fluid in how they conducted the games. They wanted to maximize the time of the players and the delegates. Medyo nagkakagulo lang when there are changes [to the schedule], especially on the day itself which really happens for events like these. But thankfully our players are well-prepared and very understanding of the situation.” praised Escutin.

One such situation that tested both Sibol executives and athletes was the delay in the medal ceremony of the Mobile Legends event when Team Indonesia protested the multiple technical pauses during the gold-medal match.

“I think for us, it was very clear yung result na nakuha natin for the Philippines. We can't say that we had an unfair advantage just because of the situation. I think technical problems are sometimes the norm in high level esports events especially for this one kasi it's very high stakes. If there's any allegation of cheating or anything like that, I think the games that were broadcasted can say otherwise, ” said Escutin.

The investigation by the SEA Games’ technical committee lasted for two hours, and it eventually dismissed Indonesia's protest due to lack of evidence — as reported by AFK Gaming — and the medal ceremony proceeded.

Recalling the incident, Marcelo spoke of how they, as PESO executives, let due process run its course.

“Chill lang kami dun sa gilid, we were just waiting for the medal ceremony because at the end of the day we felt that the technical pauses is an issue that everyone needs to deal with, whether you're from the Philippines or Indonesia. We acknowledge rin naman na talagang matindi yung competition pero we can see na at that specific game, the Philippines was really dominant. It was a clear win for us.” shared Marcelo.

Present, future of Sibol

Sibol was composed of 64 delegates, all of whom stood out during the national team selection held at the start of the year. The shift to a team selection from an individual one was due to different factors, but it was mostly because of logistics given the state of the country during lockdowns.

“Due to the pandemic at that time, Sibol executives thought the best way that they could manage the hurdles was through a team selection,” explained Marcelo.

For Escutin, though he sees pros in both a team selection and an individual selection, a team selection is easier to manage on their end given a team’s present structure and dynamic. On the other hand, an individual selection gives Sibol a wider talent pool to choose from.

The team selection turned out to be a success given the country’s performance in the recently concluded Games. But would can it repeat its success in the 32nd SEA Games, Asian Games and 2023 Asian Indoor Games?

“Whatever our decision will be [for future International events]: if it will be a team or individual selection, we will definitely make sure that it's the best of the best that we will send to represent the Philippines. That is our goal,” assured Escutin.

According to Philippine Olympic Committee president Rep. Abraham “Bambol” Tolentino, host country Cambodia had announced their planned competition program during the SEA Games Federation meeting held that weekend. Esports had been included in the plan as part of Category III sports.

Though the host country dictates what titles will be included in the Games, both Escutin and Marcelo hope for titles where Filipino esports athletes could stand out.

“Syempre we want to include yung mga best games natin. So that includes Mobile Legends, Wild Rift, and I'm hoping to have another hit at PUBG Mobile because we had really good runs in the beginning and I think that's a game we can develop for the Filipinos rin,” said Escutin.

Marcelo would also like to add Dota2 and NBA2k as Filipinos naturally excel in those two titles.

Sibol copped a gold medal in Dota2 in the 2019 SEA Games while E-GILAS Pilipinas saw multiple titles in the Fiba Esports Open.

Focusing on grassroots

Besides strengthening the national esports team, PESO has set their eyes on developing prospective esports talent with their recently launched National Grassroots Program or NGP.

Announced back in April, the three different initiatives for NGP in its first year include amateur tournaments, different webinars and the deployment of the GG Truck in different areas of the country. Since its launch, the NGP has conducted two Dota2 tournaments and two webinars on esports with topics on sportsmanship and how to become a professional player.

“The NGP is an opportunity for people to actually get their dream. The playing field is very fair, walang professional, it's all amateur so they wanted to see or take a shot at it. Very willing sila to join because NGP actually gives you a lot of incentives when you plan on going pro. You get scouted by possible professional teams and you can see if you're made for this sport.” explained Marcelo.

One such initiative that will be deployed next month is the GG Truck which reinforces PESO’s mandate in promoting esports all over the country. Marcelo sees this as a very good program, grassroots wise, to create a dynamic field of prospective esports athletes that could represent the country in future international tournaments.

But PESO is not limiting themselves to just these three initiatives.

“Definitely [things are] in the works,” said Marcelo.

He explained that for the NGP’s tournaments, the current Dota2 tournaments were initially planned with the Asian Games in mind since Dota2 will be a featured title. But in the long run, PESO is also aiming to feature other esports titles as the program moves forward.

Besides the NGP, PESO is taking steps in developing Filipina athletes, given the performance of the Women’s Wild Rift Team.

“We're taking it slow and steady. We see the potential of our Filipina athletes, and definitely, that trend should continue. It's up to PESO to make sure na ito ay masuportahan,” said Marcelo

As for other esports titles, PESO is also working with gaming publishers in spearheading different events to help develop the country’s talents.

“We're starting to talk to different publishers on what we feel may potential tayo. Like for PUBG, we're actually in talks with Tencent to spearhead events and activities that could fuel our Sibol athletes and/or potential athletes. If you would see, coming in from their performance, it was really a special moment that the Philippine team won multiple chicken dinners in one day. It just goes to show you the potential but of course yung nga, sa later half nung competition, maybe it's their inexperience [in international tournaments] that they were not able to sustain that kind of momentum. There are plans to develop our pool in other titles, based on the recommendation of the Sibol executives. Because we also need to look at the optics like sa mga titles na ‘di tayo solid, we can still find something naman to improve in like FIFA. But of course we would want to retain kung saan tayo malakas and develop yung mga kaya pang i-develop,” explained Marcelo.

“When it comes to esports kasi, we definitely would need everybody's help, especially the developers or the publishers because they have their own interest in making sure that their game is included in international events like the SEA Games. I think it's something that we can work together with them so that we can make sure we send a lot more competitive players for the Philippines,” said Escutin.