By Michael Angelo S. Murillo
Senior Reporter
FOLLOWING months of intense and competitive DOTA 2 and Tekken 7 action across several regions in the country, the Road to The Nationals Finals takes place this weekend in time with the staging of the ESports and Gaming Summit (ESGS).
Happening from Oct. 26 to 28 at the SMX Convention Center in Pasay City, the ESGS will be the battlefield for the top esports players in the land, who survived the tough competition in the various legs of the Road to The Nationals, which designed in recognition of the burgeoning esports scene in the country and to discover the best local esports athletes to represent the country in international competitions.
At stake for the Grand Finals will be a total prize pool of P1.2 million for DOTA 2 and P300,000 for Tekken 7. Also up for grabs is a chance to be drafted as part of The Nationals, the country’s first franchise-based esports league.
“We are astonished by the excellent level of play that Filipino esports athletes have shown all throughout the Road to The Nationals qualifiers,” said Andrew Santos, FVP-Consumer Marketing Head for PLDT and Smart, during the press conference for the ESGS on Thursday.
“We are fully committed to supporting our esports athletes by providing them with opportunities from the grassroots level, all the way up to creating the first franchise-based professional league in the Philippines. PLDT and Smart are not only building esports teams for The Nationals – we are also ensuring that gamers are equipped with the best gaming experience through our PLDT Home FIBR and Smart LTE networks,” he added.
PLDT Home Fibr and Smart are co-presentors of the ESGS, now running on its fourth year.
The Grand Finals of the Tekken 7 tournament is on Saturday, Oct. 26 while for the DOTA 2 it is on Sunday, Oct. 28. They will be broadcast beginning at 6 p.m. over Aksyon TV and livestream on GG Network’s Facebook page and on Sports 5’s YouTube page.
Apart from the finals of the Road to The Nationals, ESGS, organized by Gariath Concepts and dubbed as “one of the biggest E-Sports Competition and Gaming Conventions in Southeast Asia,” will also the venue in showcasing big gaming and tech brands.
From the tech side, Asus Republic of Gamers will feature their latest line of gaming laptops as well as making a big reveal with their highly anticipated ROG Phone. Other hardware brands such as MSI, HyperX, Predator, HP Omen, ViewSonic and Logitech will also grace the event with their own lineup of activities and event exclusive deals.
And there are still more surprises from the gaming side, with Kojima Productions making a presence in the event by selling their exclusive merchandise. Capcom will be showcasing their upcoming titles to the public, such as the Resident Evil 2 Remake and Devil May Cry 5. On the local developers’ side, Secret Six is also back for more activities with Project Xandata and Synergy 88 will promote its newest animated series project Barangay 143. More game publishers will be promoting their new and hit titles, these include Gameclub, Gumi, Gravity, Monstronauts, Most Played Games, Ranida Games, NetEase Games, GMA New Media, Valofe and more.
Other fighting game tournaments are also in store.
Fans can expect a lot of merchandise as well at the three-day event. With the Artist Alley attendees can check out fan arts, ask for artwork commissions and purchase other awesome works from the talented artists. There is also the merchandise area for those who want to buy some action figures, apparels and other cool trinkets. There are also ESGS-exclusive merchandise on sale for those who want to have souvenirs of the event.
The annual cosplay competition is also back, but given a new twist. This year, contestants will compete in their best fighting game cosplay, performing in their best moves as well, and cosplay judges Kang Dupet, Loki Heart and Tessa will make the return to evaluate the contestants.
