Yearender: Philippine esports sees CODM golden year, rise of women gamers, Mobile Legends dominance

MANILA, Philippines — The previous year cast a huge shadow in terms of esports triumphs for the Philippines and with fewer international tournaments in 2024, Philippine esports saw fewer gold medals but racked in achievements nonetheless.

Here's a look back at what happened in esports for 2024.

Elevate's CODM team cements legacy with ‘golden road’

In esports, "golden road" refers to a team that wins all the major tournaments of their title. Across different games, the golden road has been a long disputed achievement with many teams going for it.

In Call of Duty: Mobile (CODM), all-Filipino team Elevate secured the golden road, winning both Garena Masters Seasons 6 and 7, the regional Garenas Finals, the Summer Invitational, and the World Championship all in 2024.

In what many have considered as the most dominant run in CODM esports, Elevate CODM coach Mark "Olea" Olea saw motivation in their failed attempt to reach the world stage in 2023, which helped the team improve and achieve a golden year.

"Ang sinabi ko sa kanila [last year] na kailangan matuto lang kami sa pagkatalo namin at maging consistent sa ginagawa namin at mas double effort pa lalo para makuwa namin ngayon taon,” Olea told Philstar.com in an exclusive interview.

And though the team has reached the top, Olea promises that it was not the end of Elevate's dominant run.

“Kukunin namin ulit yung back-to-back champs sa worlds [at] magiging consistent pa din kami sa ginagawa namin,” promised Olea.

Filipinos’ final step on PUBGM world stage

Filipinos also saw success in another shooting game — PUBG: Mobile (PUBGM) — with Filipino team Harame Bro finally bringing the Philippine flag to the world stage for the first time.

Previously, Filipino teams have struggled in the regional Challengers League (PMCL) for PUBGM but Harame Bro led them this year. All Filipino squads qualified for the playoffs during the Fall split, while six Filipino teams advanced to the Summer split.

Harame Bro then cemented itself as the top Filipino PUBGM team after securing back-to-back PMCL championships in 2024 and being the first Filipino PUBGM team to set foot in both the  PUBG Mobile World Cup during the Esports World Cup in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, and the PUBG Mobile Global Championship last November.

And though both outings ended up in an early exit, Harame BRO was able to hold its own against the top PUBGM teams around the globe, always making it to the group of death in both international outings and slowly helping build the Philippines’ reputation as a rising PUBGM nation.

Women esports takes center stage

Women players also grabbed the spotlight in 2024 as Smart Omega Empress, with the country's top female Mobile Legends Bang Bang (MLBB) team securing the Mobile Legends Women's Invitational (MWI) by defeating top contender Team Vitality of Indonesia.

With the same players and coaches also making up the women's MLBB team for Sibol, the win had been a significant moment for all as it avenged its previous year's loss during the Southeast Asian Games as Team Vitality's members also made up the national team for Indonesia.

Besides the MWI, Sibol's women's MLBB team competed in two more events —  the 2024 China-ASEAN Esports Competition (CAEC) and the first Asian Esports Games (AEG) — making 2024 the busiest year for the team yet.

The continued rise of women's MLBB has prompted Moonton Games to announce it will put up a women's league for the Philippines in 2025.

"2024 was a good year for the MLBB women's scene as we had three international tournaments, the MWI, IESF Women's Event and the Asian Esports Games in Bangkok. It was a very good year for us. Moving ahead, we are developing the local women's scene. We're going to launch a more structured [women's league] in the Philippines. The ultimate goal is to have this stepping stone design, eventually women players can have a chance to go to the pro scene,” Ray Ng, Moonton Games' head of esports ecosystems and new markets, said during the M6 Summit.

Philippines named emerging region in esports

In the 2024 Esports Awards, the Philippines was awarded "Emerging Region” during the "Esports Ones to Watch" segment.

According to the Esports Awards, the citation is described as "a distinguished honor that recognizes emerging talent within the esports industry" and highlights players, creators, esports figures, and in the Philippines' case, a country that "shows exceptional potential and are poised to make significant impacts in the future."

The award came at a time when many international esports organizations began partnering with Filipino MLBB teams like Team Liquid Philippines, which acquired ECHO; Team Falcons partnering with AP.Bren; Fnatic partnering with ONIC Philippines; and Aurora Gaming, which made its debut in Season 14 of Mobile Legends Professional League (MPL) Philippines.

"This is a testament that we Filipinos are excelling in esports. ‘Pag pumasok yung mga foreign brands, that is a validation na may ginagawa tayong tama," said Philippine Esports Organization (PESO) executive director Marlon Marcelo.

Focus on back end

The year, meanwhile, was a lean one for the country's national esports team Sibol, with only the World Esports Championship (WEC) organized by the International Esports Federation (IESF) as the main event and a handful of smaller events like the 2024 China-ASEAN Esports Competition (CAEC) and the first Asian Esports Games (AEG).

Though Sibol secured podium finishes in all three events, a gold medal evaded the team, which saw different first-place finishes the previous year.

"One thing I really like about the ‘Lakad Matatag’ team is that you can use it either way. You can use it when you're definitely winning, you can use it when your results can be better,” Sibol general manager Leo "Jab" Escutin told Philstar.com.

"Naisip ko lang yung performance namin for 2024, if you think about an efficient car, siguro yung 2024, masasabi ko, this is the year we went for a change oil,” he added.

For Marcelo, he would describe 2024 as "Taon ng Back end”, focusing on the other side of esports — the administrative aspect like coaches and referees.

"We understand that we're already at the top level sa, let's just say front-end or sa athletes, but at the back-end, administration type, there are things that we can improve on so that everyone in the industry can benefit," added Marcelo.

For 2024, PESO had attended the IESF Referee Academy in Busan, South Korea last December, strengthening the knowledge of esports referees on both national and international levels about tournamentstandards and protocols.

The year also saw less travel document issues for esports athletes, something that had been prevalent in the past, with many Filipino esports athletes having to drop out of international tournaments due to lack of visas.

"PESO helps at the back end. We help and ease out ‘yung mga problems ng mga Filipino (esports athletes) due to the weak passport,” said Marcelo.

Reasserting claim as top MLBB region

When Falcons AP Bren lost to Malaysia's Selangor Red Giants at the Mid-Season Cup (MSC), many have raised doubts on whether the Philippines could hold on to the title of the strongest MLBB region. With Sibol settling for a silver finish during the MLBB event at the WEC after losing to Malaysia, the argument gained more traction, especially during the M6 World Championship Swiss Stage when all-Filipino team Aurora suffered an early exit.

With just one all-Filipino team left, Fnatic ONIC Philippines, against strong regions Indonesia and Malaysia (still with both representatives present) and underdog regions Myanmar and Eastern Europe, many were thinking that 2024 was the year that no MLBB tournament will see an all-Filipino team win it all.

But the doubters were proven wrong by the "Super Family" as Fnatic ONIC Philippines saw a perfect M6 World Championship run, not dropping a single series in both the Swiss and the Knockout Stages; and taking the country's fifth M-Series trophy after beating Team Liquid Indonesia, 4-1, in the M6 World Championship grand finals.

The win not only solidified the country's dominance in the MLBB esports scene but also reasserted the claim that "Pinas Lang Malakas".