Aiming to engage its exponentially growing fanbase, the MPL Philippines has introduced its newest initiative, the MPL-PH Player Cards, being headlined by no less than the game's ambassador Manny Pacquiao.
Pacquiao, who has been immortalized in the game through the hero Paquito and the newly-released "Manny Pacquiao" skin, banners the 76 trading esports cards featuring the 60 players, 10 teams and five shoutcasters in Season 7.
The MPL-PH Player Cards would serve as an official limited merchandise or collectible to bring hype and anticipation to the league.
Cards are classified based on rarity: Elite and Epic (for players and casters), and Legendary (for star players, team photos and Pacquiao).
The front of a player card shows the photo of the featured player, logo of his team and the logo of MPL while the back contains career statistics including KDA and team fight participation, role and featured heroes.
Achievements are also indicated through logos such as being a champion of MPL, a SEA Games gold medalist or a world champion in the case of M2 winner Bren Esports.
Fans can obtain packs and cards through giveaways and free raffles hosted by the MPL, teams, star players and key opinion leaders (KOLs).
The league is hoping to generate a complementary revenue source for players and teams through paid cards in the future.
"We believe that collectibles and IP operations around the league and players/teams would be a great addition to the MPL-PH ecosystem as well as the Philippine esports development," game developer Moonton said in a news release.