League of Cities of the Philippines announces MLBB tournament
The League of Cities of the Philippines is looking to get closer to the youth by organizing its first-ever Mobile Legends: Bang Bang tournament.
League of Cities’ first MLBB tournament
The competition is inviting all 149 cities in the LCP to participate. According to LCP Focal Mayor for Youth and Sports Development and Victorias City Mayor Javi Benitez, 25 cities have either participated or inquired about the tournament. Benitez, accompanied by LCP Acting National President and Quezon City Mayor Joy Belmonte and AP.Bren CEO AJ Ponce, presented the details of the tournament in a media event last November 12, 2024.
Each city can send up to two teams. Games will be played online beginning November 22, and it will culminate in an on-site grand final February of next year. Fans can watch the games broadcast on official LCP channels.
“[We are really] pushing for sports and especially esports where we can excel in the global stage,” says Benitez. “We feel that MLBB is not only practical, but at the same time, there’s a chance for our grassroots to be in the next Olympics.”
Speaking on the accessibility of mobile games, Benitez says “[I and Mayor Joy Belmonte] both have different cities. Quezon City is highly urbanized. In Victorias City, mobile penetration is as wide as it gets and as deep as it gets. It’s very accessible ang mobile phones, which makes mobile games very accessible. [Misconception] na po yung sa provinces na walang internet, walang cellphone.“
“It’s a misconception that provinces do not have internet and cellphones.”
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To this, Belmonte responded: “I come from a different generation. The role of every mayor is to support our constituents. If this is something that the young people in our city is interested in, it will help them develop skills, be a better person, and obviously it does because in the global arena it is already recognized as a sport. Bukas tayo sumuporta dito.“
QC Mayor Joy Belmonte: The LCP board unanimously agreed
Esports INQ asked Belmonte about the persistent stigma against video games and its effect on the youth.
“I think definitely it will help [alleviate the stigma.] I myself, coming from a generation who did not experience these types of video games had second thoughts when mayor Javi brought it up. But [Mayor Javi Benitez] told me how it helped him as a child and the positive influence of his parents understanding his interests in video games and how it made him a better person,” she adds.
She added, “I don’t want to do this if there are studies that show that this has a negative effect on our youth. The entire LCP board unanimously agreed that they wanted to do [this MLBB tournament] as a project. If this is successful, at mayroon tayong talented kids na na-discover and, at the same time, they are also performing well in school, then this will definitely debunk those misconceptions about the negative effects of video games.”
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