2016 was a big year for eSports here in the Philippines. With ESL One Manila and the Manila Majors happening months within each other, the hype for Dota 2 was fever pitch and coming into 2017, the anticipation for the next big event is at an all time high. After months of waiting, the silence has finally been broken as we are treated to the first big Dota 2 event this 2017, the Manila Masters!

There are a few things we know about the Manila Masters for now and that it is the first in a series of events that the Mineski Events Team and ESL Gaming Team are cooking up for 2017. The MOA Arena will be witness once again to 3 days of intense Dota 2 action with 8 of the best teams battling it out to be champions once again. As of yesterday, the first direct invite team was unveiled and it is no less than TI5 champions, Evil Geniuses! The team of Crit-, Suma1l, Universe, Arteezy, and Zai will travel to Manila and will treat their Filipino fans once again to championship caliber Dota only the boys in blue can deliver. And PLDT, continuing their effort of championing gaming and eSports, will be on board to support the Manila Masters like what they did during ESL One Manila.



Save the date, ladies and gentlemen, as the Manila Masters will happen on the 26th-28th of May, 2017, over at the MOA Arena. With a 250,000$ prize pool, expect only the best teams in the world to participate in this prestigious tournament. I’m guessing OG and Digital Chaos will be part of the magic 8 to be invited over and since there are a total of 8 invites, we can only assume who the other teams will be.

Tickets go on sale in 6 days and based on past ticket sales, these will sell out in record time so make sure to set your alarms and log in to SM Tickets to gain access to one of the biggest eSports events to grace this side of the world! For more information about the event, check out the Manila Masters 2017 site as well!