PH to join Esports World Cup in Saudi Arabia

MANILA, June 14 ------ The Philippines will send four teams to the Esports World Cup scheduled from July 10 to Aug. 20 in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia. The Filipinos are playing in the Mobile Legends: Bang Bang category.

MPL Philippines Season 15 champion Team Liquid PH (TLPH) and runner-up Onic PH will try to reclaim the Mid-Season Cup (MSC) while the Natus Vincere PH and TLPH will defend the MLBB Women’s Invitational (MWI) crown. “Our team is hungry to redeem the title in the MSC while in the MWI, the goal is to retain the title,” said Lee Viloria, Moonton head of Business Development and Partnerships for Philippine Esports, during the Philippine Sportswriters Association Forum on Tuesday at the Philippine Sports Commission (PSC) conference hall inside the Rizal Memorial Sports Complex.

TLPH and Onic PH will be up against 14 other teams, including powerhouse teams from Indonesia and Malaysia, to reclaim the MSC title the Philippines last won in 2022. “In the upcoming EWC, we will make sure that one of us will win. We are really preparing to get the MSC again since the Philippines has not been able to get it for several years," said Onic PH top player Duane “Kelra” Pillas. "We don't want to lose because we really want (the Philippines) to win the championship," said Kiel “Oheb” Soriano, who joined Pillas in the weekly session presented by San Miguel Corporation, PSC, Philippine Olympic Committee, MILO, Smart/ PLDT, and the country’s 24/7 sports app ArenaPlus.

Navi PH, bannered by Gwyeth “Ayanami” Diagon, and TLPH, led by Trinity “Ramici” Ramos, are seeking back-to-back titles after dethroning Team Vitality of Indonesia last year. The MSC event, with a total prize pool of USD3 million, is on July 10 to Aug. 2 while the MWI, with USD500,000 at stake, is on July 15 to 20.

Source: pna.gov.ph