THE fight is on for the Season 2 crown of the PBA Esports Bakbakan Dota 2 tournament starting on October 24.
Led by reigning champion Converge, all 12 PBA franchises are represented in the second offering of Dota 2 and fifth overall title of the league’s Esports competition in partnership with Dark League Studios.
The meet previously starred popular online games such Mobile Legends: Bang Bang (MLBB), PlayerUnknown’s Battlegrounds (PUBG), Playpark Streetballers, and Season 1 of the world-renowned Dota 2.
A total of P500,000 prize pool is up for grabs among the 12 teams represented by their own players led by eight-time MVP June Mar Fajardo of San Miguel, who’s an avid gamer and streamer himself.
Joining him are Kamron Vigan-Fleming of reigning champion Converge, Jayson David of runner-up Barangay Ginebra, Barkley Eboña (TNT Tropang Giga), Fran Yu (NorthPort), Jake Pascual (NLEX), Jaydee Tungcab (Blackwater), Nick Demusis (Rain or Shine), Kai Ballungay (Phoenix), Paolo Hernandez (Terrafirma), Alvin Pasaol, (Meralco) and Jerrick Ahanmisi (Magnolia).
As the designated faces of their Esports teams, the PBA representatives have an option to play for the Esports teams set to make the cut after the ongoing registration and qualifiers nationwide.
Only the Top 12 teams from the qualifiers will advance in the main tournament and have the luxury of picking their PBA franchise based on the rankings.
PBA Images
Last season, more than 300 teams duked it out starting in the qualifiers until the finale under an online format. The numbers are expected to go up this year with the grand finals set to be held live and on-demand at the Ayala Malls on Nov. 22.
From the 12 teams, only the Top 4 will advance to fight for the latest championship of the PBA Esports Bakbakan, which is open only to amateur players aged 16 and up – not professional gamers – to ensure a level playing field.
But there’s more to it than just games as the Asia’s first pro basketball league champions the goal of bridging the gap between the physical and traditional sports to the booming Esports in today’s digital age.
“Magkaibang kultura, magkaibang sports pero napagsama natin ang basketball at Esports. Malaking bagay sa amin sa PBA itong Esports. Win-win situation for both,” said PBA Commissioner Willie Marcial during the Season 2 presser on Thursday at the Dark League Studios headquarters in Quezon City.
Dark League Studios, one of the prime Esports movers, advocates and organizers in the country, with different titles under their watch, echoes the same sentiment.
“With the branding of the PBA on top of this program, we’re going to attract more users and fans from Season 1 where we had 351 teams. That’s how famous the PBA is and it’s very good to our vision of bridging the gap between physical sports and Esports,” added Dark League Studious co-founder and CEO AC Valdenor.
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