The PH Mobile Legends: Bang Bang Southeast Asian Games roster will be without some of the country’s brightest stars as Vietnam’s Southeast Asia Games Organizing Committee set an age limit to players who will be participating in esports events.
Secretary General and Executive Director of the Philippine Esports Organization (PeSO) Joebert Yu confirmed the development on his Facebook page, revealing that players must be 18 years old above to join the biennial meet.
That dims the possibility for the likes of M-series MVPs Karl “Karltzy” Nepomuceno and Kiel “Oheb” Soriano to join the regional games as the two are still both 17 years old by the time of the event in May.
Other notable players who will miss the roster are Onic PH’s jungler Kairi “Kairi” Rayosdelsol, Blacklist International Edward “EDWARD” Dapadap, Bren Esports David “Flaptzy” Canon and Omega Esports Kiel “Kielvj” Hernandez.
Yu also explained in the post why Karltzy, despite being a minor, managed to represent the country in the 2019 iteration of the SEA Games which happened in the country.
“When we were the host of the Southeast Asian (SEA) Games in 2019, we were given the choice to set any (fair) rules not related to the game aspect and that includes the age restriction. So we set the age restriction to 12,” the PeSO executive explained.
“Now given the same choice as the next host country, Vietnam set their age restriction to 18. So as the foreign country now, we can try to appeal but ultimately, we will abide and follow the rules set by the host country,” Yu furthered.
Despite missing the young stars, the PeSO still has a wide pool of talents at its disposal led by world champion duo of Jonmar “OhmyV33nus” Villaluna and Danerie “Wise” Del Rosario. There’s also the likes of Gerald “Dlarskie” Trinchera, Allen “Baloyskie” Baloy, Jaylord “Hatred” Gonzales, Salic “Hadji” Imam, Jaymark “Hadess” Lazaro, and John Paul “H2wo” Salonga.
“Now, regards to some players who will be ineligible to compete at these national events, we just have to deal with the "cards we've been dealt with" and always try to find a way to win "by the book"!” said Yu.