Breaking Through: A Fan’s Perspective on the Development of Philippine eSports
Last Saturday, League of Legends players in the Philippines gathered for a viewing party of the League of Legends Season 5 World Championship finals in SM North EDSA’s Cinema 8. The event’s organizer, RUMBLE ROYALE, said that over a thousand tickets were sold in the span of just three days. The one thousand attendees were cheering their hearts out colelctively as they witnessed the crowning of the Season 5 World Champion.
Besides that, all of the attendees were each given a free Championship Kalista game code as well as treated to raffle giveaways courtesy of RUMBLE ROYALE and Garena Philippines.
//
RUMBLE ROYALE Worlds VIewing Party!!WE JUST SENT THIS VIDEO TO RIOT!! HOPEFULLY IT GETS FEATURED DURING #WORLDS!! THIS IS WHAT THE FULL HOUSE LOOKS LIKE AT RUMBLE ROYALE’s LoL WORLD FINALS VIEWING PARTY AT SM CITY NORTH EDSA!!#RRWORLDS #THISISHOWWEWORLDS #REIGNSUPREME!!!
Posted by Rumble Royale on Saturday, October 31, 2015
#ThisIsHowWeWorlds
RUMBLE ROYALE’s Head Writer and Program Director of the Viewing Party, Cheecs Marasigan, had a few words regarding the success of the event:
On behalf of the RUMBLE ROYALE Team, we are humbled and overwhelmed, and we thank our community and our sponsors for the fulfillment we enjoyed that night. Filling up a 1,000+ seat cinema in less than 3 days was near unthinkable, but not impossible for the RUMBLE ROYALE Community and its supporters.” – Cheecs Marasigan, RUMBLE ROYALE Head Writer and Program Director of the Viewing Party
The viewing party at SM North EDSA, along with other viewing parties across the country and the live broadcasting of the tournament on mainstream television channel Sports5, show that eSports is getting more and more mainstream attention here in the Philippines. With that said, we decided to interview a fan who attended the viewing party to give their thoughts on what the World Championships mean to them as well as the growth of eSports in our country.
Nath: Hello! I’m Nath from eSports Inquirer. Thank you for agreeing to this interview. Can you please introduce yourself to our readers?
Carlo: Hi I’m Carlo, 22 years old. I just came out of the cinema for a break after watching the third game of SK Telecom vs the KOO Tigers.
Nath: So as a fan of League of Legends, what does the Season 5 World Championship mean to you?
Carlo: Well I’m a big fan of the European scene so I would have preferred if either Origen or Fnatic made it to the finals. But I’m still happy that Europe managed to make it to the semi-finals even though both teams lost to the Koreans. But so far, the World Championships have been good for the Europeans and their fans as they were able to make up for their performance last season.
Nath: Being a fan of Fnatic myself, I’m also happy that they managed to make it as far as the semi-finals. Anyway, what can you say about the World Championships being streamed here in a cinema?
Carlo: It’s a good thing to do because it increases the publicity and gives recognition to the eSports scene. It improves how people see eSports and video games in general, that it’s not just a game and not just something that ruins people’s lives. It’s good to show that video games can also reach the level of real sports. Overall I think it’s a good step forward.
Filipino gamers cheering during the viewing party
Nath: I agree that viewing parties such as these are a step forward in bringing eSports to the mainstream here in the Philippines. So are your parents aware of this event?
Carlo: Well, not my parents. But the parents of my friends that I came here with are aware of this event.
Nath: So what was their reaction upon finding out that the World Championships of a video game is being streamed live in a cinema?
Carlo: They were surprised and they thought that it was amazing that such an event was able to happen.
Nath: I’m happy that your friends’ parents had such positive feedback about events like this happening. Since eSports is slowly entering mainstream media, what are your opinions regarding the scene then compared to the scene now?
Carlo: The scene is definitely growing. I’ve been playing in the Philippine server since Season 1 and back then there were only two relevant teams, which was Bida Gaming and Team WILD. To be honest, I don’t really follow the local anymore but I have noticed the rise of new players and new teams. The competition is definitely better now, although I feel that the rate we’re improving is still slow compared to other countries.
Some fans showing support the KOO Tigers and SK Telecom T1, the teams who made it to the finals of the World Championships.
Nath: I see. But given the recent improvements and breakthroughs such as this viewing party, what can you say about the future of eSports in the Philippines?
Carlo: Honestly speaking, we are improving. It’s getting better and the viewing parties here and in SM Megamall as well as the live broadcast by Sports5 on television is proof of that. It’s getting there, although I’m not sure if any Philippine team will be able to compete at a world-class level anytime soon.
Nath: So considering that statement, what improvements do you think are necessary in order to further improve the quality of eSports and push it to the level of the more established regions such as Korea, North America, and Europe?
Carlo: I think some contributing factors are the depth of talent and just a general understanding of the way the game works. For starters, teams using coaches here isn’t as well developed as say, Korea. I think that the coaches here have to experience more and learn more about eSports. It’s going to take time, but we need some more development in terms of coaching and infrastructure. The depth of talent also needs development and I feel these factors are what separates us from the more well established regions.
Nath: That’s a lot of insight right there. So how does witnessing SK Telecom and the KOO Tigers, two of the best teams in the world compete, affect your aspirations as a gamer?
Carlo: I don’t expect myself to reach the top, but seeing those two teams compete inspires me to become a better player. It serves as a driving force for me to continue playing to improve and I hope that the other people watching them play will also get inspired to improve their skills.
Some fans also attended the event cosplaying! Credits to RUMBLE ROYALE for this photo.
Nath: It’s good that the two teams competing serve as a driving force for your improvement. Anyway, would you like to see more of these viewing parties being hosted in the future?
Carlo: Of course, and I hope that a similar event will also happen for other eSports titles in the future.
Nath: Thank you for time. As we wrap things up, do you have any closing statements or shout outs that you’d like to make?
Carlo: I want to thank RUMBLE ROYALE and Garena for hosting the viewing parties. It’s definitely a good experience. I hope that eSports will continue to grow further here in the Philippines.
Attendees were treated to giveaways courtesy of RUMBLE ROYALE. Credits to RUMBLE ROYALE for this photo.
That about wraps it up for this interview. It was a really fun experience to see the Filipino gamers attend the viewing party and cheer for their favorite teams in the finals. This, along with the positive attention that mainstream media has been giving eSports lately is just the start of the further development of eSports in our country. Hopefully, soon eSports will be fully recognized and respected as a legitimate industry in the Philippines.
Subscribe to INQUIRER PLUS to get access to The Philippine Daily Inquirer & other 70+ titles, share up to 5 gadgets, listen to the news, download as early as 4am & share articles on social media. Call 896 6000.
