Philippines named emerging region in Esports Awards

MANILA, Philippines – The Philippines was cited as the "Esports Ones to Watch: Emerging Region" in the 2024 Esports Awards held at Riyadh, Saudi Arabia last August 24 (August 25, Manila time) during the inaugural Esports World Cup.

According the Awards’ website, the Esports Ones to Watch Award is "a distinguished honor that recognizes emerging talent within the esports industry" and highlights players, creators, esports figures that show exceptional potential and are poised to make significant impacts in the future."

The country has been winning numerous awards in esports, courtesy either of Filipino pro teams or of Filipino national athletes. Many Filipino pro teams have won championships abroad, cementing the dominance of Filipino players in the likes of Mobile Legends Bang Bang (MLBB), Valorant, Dota2, Tekken, PUBG Mobile and many more. 

Last year, the Philippines was awarded the first National Federation of the Year Award by the International Esports Federation (IESF), with the country's national esports team, Sibol, being crowned the Grand World Esports champs at the 2023 World Esports Championship.

In the first half of 2024, many international esports organizations began partnering with local MLBB teams like Team Liquid Philippines, which acquired ECHO; Team Falcons partnering with AP.Bren; Fnatic partnering with ONIC Philippines; and Aurora Gaming, which made its debut in the current season of the Mobile Legends Professional League.

"It's a sweet moment for us. This is a testament that we Filipinos are excelling in esports. ‘Pag pumasok yung mga foreign brands, that is a validation na may ginagawa tayong tama," said Philippine Esports Organization (PESO) executive director Marlon Marcelo.

He adds, "I'm happy for the teams that partnered with these organizations kasi mas maraming opportunities, mas maraming support and again validation that they are true top-notch esports players."

Other winners in the 2024 Esports Awards were game publisher Riot Games, which took home Esports Publisher of the Year, Esports Game of the Year for their FPS game Valorant, Esports Content of the Year for their League of Legends music video, and the Esports Breakthrough Game of the Year for their title Teamfight Tactics; while Moonton Games' Mobile Legends Bang Bang won the Mobile Esports Game of the Year.

First held in 2016, the Esports Awards is the lone awarding body that celebrates achievements in the esports industry. It was previously held every December of each year, but the Awards had recently announced a three-year partnership with the Esports World Cup in hopes of bringing the entire world together to commemorate esports excellence.