Esports, for the first time in history, will be a medal event in the upcoming 2019 Southeast Asian Games. Carrying our flag in this discipline will be Sibol, the Philippine national team for esports.

Sibol, which is the Filipino word for “growth,” is an apt name for our national team as it signifies not only the rise of esports around the world but also the advancement of esports talent in the Philippines.

Flaunting our national colors, the Sibol logo is an amalgam of the leaf and the flame. The leaf symbolizes new beginnings while the flame represents the passion of the Filipino gamer. The shapes in the flame also subtly spell out the country’s acronym, PHI.

Sibol will be competing in all six titles featured in the esports event of the 30th SEA Games, which include Dota 2, StarCraft II, Hearthstone, Arena of Valor, Mobile Legends: Bang Bang, and Tekken 7.

Sibol’s quest for gold at the Games starts with assembling the national team. To start off, several outstanding Filipino esports athletes will be directly invited into the team’s training pool. The roster of directly invited players include:

Dota 2

Carlo “Kuku” Palad

Timothy John “Tims” Randrup

Kim “Gabbi” Santos

Armel “Armel” Tabios

Nico “Eyyou” Barcelon

Djardel “DJ” Mampusti

“DJ” Mampusti Marc Polo Luis “Raven” Fausto

Abed Azel “Abed” Yusop

Michael “ninjaboogie” Ross Jr.

Ryan Jay “Bimbo” Qui

StarCraft II

Caviar “Enderr” Acampado

Arena of Valor

Kevin Kio “Gambit” Dizon

Jeremiah “1717” Camarillo

Jevan Lorenzo “Bents” Delos Santos

Lawrence Anthony “Rubixx” Gatmaitan

Miguel Klarenz “Miggie” Banaag

Mobile Legends: Bang Bang

Carlito “Ribo” Ribo

Erwin “Yakou” Magno

Jeniel “Haze” Bata-Anon

Marc Danielle “Dee” San Luis

Yuji “Yuji” Aizawa

Angelo Kyle “Pheww” Arcangel

Renz Carlo “Pein” Reyes

Lester “Tets” Santos

Ralph Mico “Coco” Sampang

Mark “Dysania” Cruz

Ephraim Jueinno “Ejhay” Sambrano

Gerardo “Eson” Mark Jayson

Jeff Franklin “Jeffqt4ever” Anaya

Allan Sancio “Lusty” Castromayor

Jason Rafael “Jay” Torculas

Ashleymarco “Killuash” Cruz

Kyle “Ryo” Berceño

Tekken 7

Andreij Hosea “Doujin” Albar

Alexandre Gabrielle “AK” Laverez

Hearthstone

Jacinta “Jia” Dee

Euneil “Staz” Javiñas

Joining them in the Sibol training pool are individuals who will prove victorious in the upcoming open qualifiers. Any Filipino citizen over the age of 13 can join the said qualifier. This will happen on August, and more details are going to be announced soon.

Once the Sibol training pool is complete, each player will be evaluated based on their mastery of their respective esport title as well as their compatibility with the rest of the team, among other factors.

Managers and coaches will be assigned per game, and they will be a part of the selection committee in charge of trimming the pool down to the final Sibol team that will compete in the SEA Games.

Driving the search for athletes to comprise Sibol, the PSEU has partnered with Razer. “Esports has been at the heart of Razer since the beginning,” says David Tse, Global Esports Director at Razer. “As the leading brand in esports, we have supported countless global events, teams, and athletes over the years and continue to push Esports to new heights. Now we are very excited to help esports enter a new era, where it will be a medalled event for the first time in the SEA Games.”

“We are very excited to have Razer as our partner,” says Ms. Jane Basas, PSEU co-Chairman and President of Cignal TV. “The brand has been a consistent proponent of the recognition and legitimacy of esports around the world. With their support, as well as our other partners, the PSEU is confident that the qualifiers for Sibol will bring out the best and most talented esports athletes in the country. We stand firm in our goal of SEA Games gold, and we as a team pledge to support Sibol every step of the way.”

Aside from partnering with Razer, the PSEU has also partnered with Mountain Dew as its official power-up drink. Mountain Dew is not new to esports, and they want to continue their commitments to the industry by pledging support to Sibol.

The final Sibol roster for the SEA Games will be composed of seven players each for team games (Dota 2, Mobile Legends: Bang Bang, Arena of Valor), and two representatives for the individual games (Tekken 7, Hearthstone, StarCraft II).

PSEU Is the Official Esports Event Manager of the 2019 SEA Games

In charge of creating and managing Sibol will be the Philippine Southeast Asian Games Esports Union (PSEU), a group under the Philippine Olympic Committee. PSEU was established for the sole purpose of organizing the esports event at the 30th Southeast Asian Games as well as the Philippine team and delegation.

PSEU is the product of the partnership between the Esports National Association of the Philippines (ESNAP) and the National Esports Federation of the Philippines (NESFP). The team is determined to make Sibol a representation of the country’s best gamers, in line with our target of winning gold in the Games.

The 30th SEA Games will be held in the Philippines from November 30 to December 11, 2019. Eleven countries will be participating in the games, including Brunei, Cambodia, Indonesia, Laos, Malaysia, Myanmar, the Philippines, Singapore, Thailand, East Timor, and Vietnam. The esports competition is scheduled from December 5 to 10, 2019 at the Filoil Flying V Centre in San Juan, Metro Manila.