Several teams will battle it out to secure the opportunity of representing the Philippines in the inaugural Razer SEA Invitational. Powered by Smart in partnership with GGNetwork and One Sports, the qualifiers will showcase hotly contested matches from some of the best teams in the country across three games: DotA 2, Mobile Legends: Bang Bang, and PUBG Mobile.
Jane Basas, Senior Vice President and Head of Smart’s wireless business individual unit, has expressed her excitement for the qualifiers. “We are more than proud to partner with Razer to highlight these talented players in the local esports scene. We have laid the groundwork to give everyone an amazing show in the qualifiers, and we can’t wait to witness history take shape once again.”
Three teams will compete in round-robin matches for DotA 2, while four teams will clash in the initial round of the MLBB qualifiers. Outlier teams in DotA 2 will face off to meet the leading team in the final phase of the qualifiers, while teams in MLBB will undergo a grueling double-elimination setup to determine the final combatant for the official tourney.
On the other hand, 16 teams will play 12 rounds in randomly drawn maps for the PUBGM qualifiers. The top three teams will be selected based on aggregate scores accumulated in the matches.
“The qualifiers will serve as an opportunity for the Filipino youth to showcase their skills in the realm of esports,” said Alvin Juban, Secretary General at the National Electronic Sports Federation of the Philippines (NESFP). “The SEA Games have proven that [Filipinos] are capable of achieving great heights in esports events, and we are grateful to Razer for having that chance to demonstrate that capacity again. I’m looking forward to seeing where this amazing pool of players will take us.”
“The Razer SEA Invitational will put the Philippines in the esports map once more,” mused Joebert Yu, President of the eSports National Association of the Philippines (eSNAP). “There is a huge amount of esports talent in the country, and the Razer SEA Invitational has provided us a medium to unleash that potential to the international stage.”
“It has always been PESO’s mission to promote esports advocacy in the Philippines,” stated Brian Lim, President of the Philippine Esports Organization (PESO). “As we work hand-in-hand with other esports organizations, we are truly certain that we are treading a path where esports presents tremendous possibilities in the country. These players are the future, and we are here to make their future happen.”
Catch the livestreams of the inaugural Razer SEA Invitational qualifiers from June 17 through 25 on GGNetwork and One Sports’ Facebook pages.