RIOT GAMES PHILIPPINES has announced its road map for its new open tournament, Liga Republika. The new tournament takes all of Riot’s learning from last year’s Empyrean Cup and will come in a different format, but with the same PHP 1 million prize pool.
“Liga Republika reinforces our commitment to the Philippine esports and gaming community," started Joel Guzman, Country Manager of Riot Games.
"Fueled by the success of last year’s Empyrean Cup in reigniting the League of Legends community in the country, rebranding the league to Liga Republika reinforces and sustains the momentum we gained, and elevate the esports scene in the Philippines through a healthier and more competitive league."
“We wanted to double down on our investment, we wanted to double down on being hyperlocal and create a league for the Filipinos and by the Filipinos,” Guzman added during the press conference for the launch.
“We are committed to create a league that fosters a sense of pride, identity, and belonging for our players. And by evolving last year’s Empyrean Cup to Liga Republika, our hope is to give our players a league that they can proudly call tatak Pinoy,” added Kimi Salazar, Multiplayer Online Battle Arena (MOBA) Brand Manager of Riot Games Philippines.
Bigger than the Empyrean Cup
Last year’s Empyrean Cup saw 256 teams battle it out for the PHP 1 million prize pool. This year Riot is opening 384 slots nationwide for Liga Republika.
Liga Republika officially kicks off this May featuring an invitational tourney featuring the top 8 teams from last year’s Empyrean Cup. The top 4 teams will automatically be seeded in the group stage of the main Liga Republika tourney.
Registration for the open qualifiers begins this June while open qualifiers themselves will take place this July. The top 12 teams from open qualifiers will proceed to the group stage which is set in August.
The group stage will have four groups with 4 teams each. The top 2 teams from each group will play in the offline playoffs in September.
“Liga Republika is the next step in our evolution for supporting the grassroot community in the Philippines. Liga Republika is not just a new brand, it is also a new format as well as more chances for our teams to join. And I hope that this shows the players that League is definitely back and League is really here to stay.” added Salazar during the press conference.
Riot Games Philippines will release further details about the upcoming Invitational and open qualifier registration soon.
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