MINERVA BC NEWMAN
CEBU CITY – Cebu e-sports and online gaming can produce world champions and globally competitive gamers, but it needs massive support from local governments, academe, parents and the industry themselves to promote and develop online/video gaming as a career for the young people.
Monarch Esports owner Michael Cubos said that Cebu can produce champions but the local government units, the schools and the private sector must collaborate to develop e-sports here. He cited the need to support gamers especially on trainings because they need to have the best equipment and stable internet connection to be able to train for e-sports tournaments locally and globally.
Sibol, the country’s national esports team for the last SEA Games, won the gold medals in Dota 2, Starcraft II and Mobile Legends: Bang as well as silver and bronze medals for Tekken 2.
Cubos maintained that Cebu, the Visayas and Mindanao have skilled players. Monarch’s recently-formed Mobile Legends Team won in a recent tournament held in Cebu participated by teams from all over the Philippines.
Cebu can produce champions in Esports/gaming such as Call of Duty, League of Legends Wildrift, Mobile Legends, and PUBG, among others. Although the interest in esports/gaming is growing globally, it has yet to be encouraged here in the Philippines, including Cebu, Cubos added.
According to the Global Esports and Live Streaming Market report by Newzoo, global esports revenues for 2021 is project to reach over $1-billion. In 2020, the industry earnings were placed at $947.1 million.
Cubos said that with this kind of industry, many of the young people in Cebu and the Visayas/Mindanao area can financially benefit with its development into a viable and profitable industry.
Schools can offer scholarships for those who qualify for their esports team, like what they offer to other sports players while the local government can promote the development of e-sports at the grassroots level, Cubos stated.
He recalled that some LGUs in Cebu have come up with e-sports tournaments, but this were not sustained. Even barangays can come up with regular Liga sa Barangay featuring e-sports to encourage the youth to go into the sports.
Another factor that has affected the development of esports is the lack of support from parents of gamers because they think this would affect the children’s performance in school. Cubos noted that if parents realize that esports can be a career just like basketball and other sports then their mindset can change, and they can become supportive of their kids who show interest in online/video gaming.
Most video gamers start at a young age. Jesse Joaquin (Tagalog Waksu), a Mobile Legends: Bang Player, Offlane Gold, became hooked on Dota when he was 9 or 10 years old.
Karsten Blue Pielago, (also known as YInMn Azure) MLBB Ofllane XP, started playing Mobile Legends at age 12.
For Mohammad Alsughayer aka Coach Hamoudini, WR Coach and former LOL Pro Player, gaming became a part of his life when he was 14-year-old.
“But after years of playing a team base game, my team started to lose the passion for competition and I really want to pursue eSports. I realized I can still be part of it by guiding the new generation of players and helping them to achieve that,” according to Alsughayer.
While gaming had affected the studies of many kids, Jomar Ian Guzman aka Isolate (WildRift, Jungle) made sure his grades are competitive so his parents would not complain over his gaming.
“I had to make sure that my academic life is not affected with how much I competed and geared up in tournaments,” Jomar said.
Eljen Anoba aka Jen (WildRift, Midlaner) almost gave up on video gaming because of the lack of support. “I was disappointed and started to lose hope, because I was going to waste all the time spent on esports as Visayas lacked the financial support, and so I decided to quit the league,” he said.
But Anoba reconsidered his decision. “Under the banner of The Monarchs Esports, we will aim higher to reach higher than the top,” he said.
Cubos also noted that even if children do not proceed to becoming serious gamers, disciplined gamers can enhance mental skills. These include problem solving and logic; planning, resource management and logistics; critical thinking and team work.
E-sports, just like any other sports, need to
have the support for continuous training, Cubos explained. Monarch, through its academy will be offering
short courses, about two weeks, on video gaming teaching gamers, 16 years old
and above, on improving their gaming skills.
According to Cubos, another aspect of the training is inculcating time management and discipline among gamers just like varsity players who are required to have good grades to continue to play for the school’s team.
Aside from training players, Monarch will also be offering courses on coaching and casting (sportscasting) for e-sports tournaments. Former gamers now have a choice to pursue their passion for gaming.
Casters are usually paid around P250 per hour. However, Cubos explained that they need to be familiar how the games are played that’s why they too need training.
Once recognition of e-sports will improve, coaches would be needed to help new gamers learn how to play various roles of different games.
He explained that if they find potential among their trainees, Monarch will move them up to become junior players and then they become senior players. There’s also the opportunity to level up to pro players.
“It’s not only an academy but it’s a small ecosystem inside the company. We also have the marketing arm. We also have the events organizing arm and the athletes’ management,” says Cubos, who is also a gamer.
He hopes that having a Cebuano international champion could become ambassador for e-sports. Monarch has launched four teams for Call of Duty Mobile, League of Legends Wild Rift, Mobile Legends and PUBG Mobile.
The company is also partnering with Cebu E-sports United (CESU). In an earlier interview, CESU founder Marbles Paralisan more than 100 online/video gamers in Cebu. Most of them are young people aged 16 to early 30s.
Paralisan noted that they formed teams on their own to compete in tournaments. “I know most of these players in Cebu. This is actually the first time that the teams and e-sports in Cebu are being united and organized and now there’s a management team to look into the myriad aspects of e-sports and online gaming.”
The collaboration of Monarch with CESU is a good start but the support of local government and the academe would boost e-sports development in Cebu and the rest of the Visayas.
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