ESPORTS is a growing industry and given its current status comes a plethora of growing pains.
In the Philippines, there have been numerous issues that the scene faces and the most notorious of them all are the VISA/passport issues.
Many dreams were crushed due to travelling issues, like that time when Bren Esports failed to compete in the VCT Stage 3 Masters Berlin.
But for the Philippine Esports Organization (PeSO), they promised to keep our National Athletes ready for international events.
"So definitely on the back-end side, hindi napapansin iyan but definitely what we actually do to help them is number one prepare all the necessary details, get their permits, IDs, so it’s a long process," started Marlon Marcelo, Executive Director of PeSO.
He further emphasized: "But ang ending, kapag Sibol ka 100% sure makaka-passport ka, makakalipad ka. Walang Sibol ang maiiwan sa Pilipinas."
Since 2019, Sibol was able to compete in all of the international multisport events. This year will be a challenge given that the venues are outside of Southeast Asia as the IESF will be held in Iasi, Romania, while the Asian Games will happen in Hangzhou, China.
Rulebook problems
During the IESF tournament in Bali, Indonesia back in 2022, Blacklist Sibol had one major problem...the device in the IESF was different from the MPL.
It was a struggle for our representatives to play Mobile Legends using Samsung phones, which constrasts that of the MPL where teams used the iPhone.
To deal with problems like this, PeSO would constantly communicate with the organizers.
"In terms sa PeSO side, we’re actually coordinating really early, we demand accountability to the organizers as early as now so if you take a look at it, we actually demand at least two full months na i-publish na yung actual technical handbook or rulebook, na nandoon na yung actualy equipment so that we won’t be blindsided kung what kind of equipment yung ipu-push so we’re really on top of that," reflected Marcelo.
He added: "From our experience, minsan nade-delay yung mga announcements, we’re anticipating na kung ano man yung mostly na gandang gamitin na equipment."
But that wasn't the only move that they did. WIth their recent partnership with RealMe, players can get a taste as to how Android phones work.
“Most definitely we were able to expect lahat ng mga problems na iyon. Mas updated na tayo ngayon. We’re trying to work with RealMe as well na nagsu-support sa mga athletes natin ng mga android phones para sa training process nila," said Sibol Head Coach Ralph Andrei "Leathergoods" Llabres.
Given their experience with last minute shenanigans, both PeSO and Sibol are confident that they can weather the challenges up ahead.
"Most definitely we’re just more on top of all of the rules and changes even though syempre may mga hindi maiiwasan na last minute changes pa rin, pero ngayon bago pa mangyari iyon, we’re really to be ready na kaagad," added Leathergoods.
Forging the grassroots
Another hurdle that the Philippines needs to address is the lack of opportunities and exposure from the other esports and gaming communities.
FIFA may not be the biggest esports title in the Philippines, yet there are players like Rad "Radalad" Novales and Jorrel "RellyClips" Arristorenas who would compete in various FIFA esports events.
To further strengthen these communities, PeSO promises to build around the grassroots.
"That’s where the grassroots programs are very important so we want to make sure that all the gaming communities that are not really popular are engaged," revealed Jab Escutin, Sibol's General Manager.
He even touched upon FIFA, a scene that the Philippines might need to hone given the huge football following across other regions.
"So one of things that we usually see is that we have an expectation of the different games that most countries would probably put out. So FIFA is one of the things we expect from countries with a really big football following," reflected Escutin.
And how will PeSO unleash the potential of the grassroots scene, Sir Jab gave some hints during the press conference.
"The way we do it is you have to grow the grassroots so that when we have a big pool of talent, we expect better talent to come out of that pool. But the main point is to continually make sure that they’re engaged so that they have competitions that we can start for them so that we can continually compete and hone their skills so that we can be ready for the next events," explained the Sibol General Manager.
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