South Korea’s T1, one of the pioneering e-sports organizations in the world, tapped Smart Communications, Inc. to provide facilities for its Philippine expansion.
To develop the esports industry in the country, Smart will house the Defense of the Ancients (DotA) 2 Team of T1 and power its connectivity during the latter's boot camp and tournaments.
DOTA is a multiplayer online battle arena (MOBA) mod for video games. The objective of the game is for each team to destroy their opponents' "Ancient," a heavily guarded structure at the opposing corner of the map.
Players use powerful units known as heroes, and are assisted by allied teammates and Artificial Intelligence (AI)-controlled fighters.
As in role-playing games, players level up their heroes and use gold to buy equipment during the game.
Already, three Filipino esports athletes are part of T1’s roster.
Founded in 2003, T1 has won three-time world championship title for League of Legends.
"This is part of Smart’s advocacy to help develop esports in the Philippines and empower Filipino esports athletes as they make their mark in the global arena,” Jude H. Turcuato, PLDT and Smart Sports first vice president and head said.
T1, along with eight other squads in the region, is set to play in the Southeast Asia Dota Pro Circuit Division I this month.