PBA’s E-Sports draft a rouser

About 3,000 fans packed Robinsons Manila to witness the inaugural PBA E-Sports Bakbakan draft presided by league commissioner Willie Marcial last Monday and the proceedings took five hours to complete in an atmosphere of fun, kantiyawan and friendly oneupmanship. Marcial said he wasn’t surprised at the turnout and added that the E-Sports collaboration was in the works even before the pandemic struck.

“Dapat na-launch na natin ang PBA E-Sports sa 45th season,” said Marcial. “Nag-usap na kami ni Sienna (Olaso, Cignal TV first vice president, head of channels and content) for TV. Ang naisip namin ay mag e-games sa halftime ng games na may TV coverage. Plano rin mag-ikot sa Visayas at Mindanao. Pero nangyari ang pandemic kaya sa 50th season ang reset na schedule. Tamang-tama, vice chairman Bobby (Rosales) at governor Alfrancis (Chua) nagtayo ng Dark League Studios for E-Sports kaya napa-aga ang launch ng collaboration.”

The PBA is partnering with Dark League Studios to set up the initial PBA E-Sports Bakbakan season kicking off in two weeks with a pot prize of P1 million, including P750,000 for the champion. The competition will be Mobile Legends: Bang Bang. After a single round robin, the top four of 12 competing teams representing each PBA franchise will slug it out in a best-of-five semifinals leading to a best-of-five finals.

Each team will be made up of two PBA players, two gaming influencers, a student from the academe and three fans. It’s still not certain which PBA players will join but 20 showed up for last Monday’s draft, an indication of interest to participate. The 20 players were Ginebra’s Christian Standhardinger, Blackwater’s Ato Ular, TNT’s Kib Montalbo, Converge’s Bradwyn Guinto, Terrafirma’s Gelo Alolino and Joseph Gabayni, Magnolia’s James Laput, Jerrick Ahanmisi and Jackson Corpuz, NLEX’ Philip Paniamogan and Marion Magat, Phoenix’ Jollo Go and Chris Lalata, NorthPort’s Kent Salado and Roi Sumang, Rain or Shine’s Gian Mamuyac and Rey Nambatac, Meralco’s Alvin Pasaol and Kyle Pascual and San Miguel Beer’s Rodney Brondial. Two gaming enthusiasts are Ginebra’s Jared Dillinger and San Miguel’s DOTA specialist June Mar Fajardo so it’s likely they’ll play in the first season.

The draft was split into four rounds. The first two rounds were to pick influencers, the third to choose students and the fourth to select three pre-qualified fans for each team. The order of drafting was determined by lottery. Over 3,500 fans applied for the draft and 70 were chosen to comprise the pool for the fourth round. Of the 70, 36 were picked and the remaining 34 will be on reserve for the next season. Ginebra drew the first overall choice and named Setsuna (Akosi Dogie) Ignacio, a popular gamer who’s a Never-Say-Die fan.

Marcial said he predicts both the PBA and E-Sports to grow stronger because of the partnership. “Mga eight to nine million followers ang dala ng ilan sa mga influencers,” he said. Chua, the Ginebra governor, said E-Sports has emerged as a major platform of entertainment for both participants and spectators. He mentioned that in a recent E-Sports competition in Singapore, tickets were sold out at P28,000 each and the ambiance was like the NFL Super Bowl. The PBA found the perfect timing to launch the E-Sports initiative.