Manila vs. Cebu: Thousands of Cebu Gamers Flock SM City Cebu to Watch Arcanys vs. Mineski
Last Sunday, thousands of Cebuano gamers flocked to the SM City Cebu foodcourt to witness local Dota 2 heroes Arcanys Gaming go toe-to-toe with the country’s most decorated Dota 2 squad, Mineski-Dota
At the Esports Tour (EST) event organized by the Mineski Events Team (MET), Cebuano Dota 2 fans were treated to a free two-day gaming event.
While the event was smaller in scope compared to other events such as the Esports Festival, the smaller, more intimate gathering allowed the Cebu crowd to watch their home team go up against Mineski’s Dota 2 team, fresh from a campaign in Frankfurt, Germany where they competed in the first Dota 2 Majors tournament.
EST originally a side project by the Mineski Events Team (MET) — was designed to bring the on-site experience of a videogame tournament to fans outside of Metro Manila. Cebu marks the last leg of the caravan, their other outings being Clark in Pampanga and Davao City.
Benson Te, business development manager for Mineski, describes EST as a “labor of passion.”
“It really began as our way of giving back to the community,” said Te. “We regularly get feedback from the community asking us to create events outside of Manila. One day we just asked ourselves: why not?”
Mineski is known both locally and abroad as the Philippine’s most distinguished eSports organization owing to the successes of their Dota 2 team. Apart from sponsoring eSports teams however, the group also hosts events across different games and competitions.
Their tournaments are mostly centered in Manila, where the organization is located. But according to Te, 2015 is the start of a whole new and aggressive expansion.
“It’s a smaller event for us, but we really put a lot into it. We’re learning so much about the type of gaming culture that exists around the Philippines,” explained Te.
“In Manila, you have this general sense of hype and energy coming from the crowd,” he described. “But in places like Davao and here in Cebu, the crowd gets really territorial and proud of their hometown heroes.”
In Cebu, the two-day event was capped by an explosive showmatch between Mineski-Dota and Cebuano team Arcanys Gaming. Despite Mineski having a more established fan-base, the crowd placed their support 100% behind the home team.
“There’s a pride factor there and it’s amazing. It really is what makes eSports so engaging. It doesn’t matter if the other team is stronger. There’s this drive behind the crowd ” Te added.
Future events in Cebu
Given the success of their tour in Cebu, Te says that future events in Cebu are definitely in their plans.
“We originally wanted to have a bigger space to occupy for this year’s event but we were given the foodcourt instead,” said Te. “But next year, we will definitely aim for a bigger space and a grander experience.”
But for Te, giving a bigger and grander gaming event to the Cebuano crowd is only the product of a bigger goal.
“The goal is really to bring the industry forward and not saturate it in Manila,” said Te. “Cebu is such a vibrant place and all the other legs of EST taught us about how Filipinos come to enjoy these events.”
“Ibang-iba ang Cebu. The fans and their reaction here are the best,” he added.
Mineski-Dota bested Cebuano team Arcanys, 2-0, to end their show match and cap the EST event.
Banner photos by Mineski-Dota
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