“We will always reach for the stars.”
The Philippine Esports Organization has embarked on the second phase of its programs for the growth of the esports field in the country.
Following a successful run in the last two editions of the Southeast Asian Games where PESO, through its esports national team, Sibol, made its mark, finishing first overall in the medal tally in the 2019 edition and third in the 2021 meet, the federation now plans to bring the biggest international tournaments to the country.
“To give you a snapshot of the upcoming Phase 2, we want to host international events and PESO will lead the way,” said PESO Executive Director Marlon Marcelo during a roundtable discussion with the members of the press before the PESO Thanksgiving Night at the Hilton Manila Hotel in Pasay City.
Among international esports events PESO is hoping to bring to the Philippines are the IESF World Esports Championship which is set this year in Bali, Indonesia, Dota 2’s The International, Valorant Masters and MLBB’s M-series World Championships.
“One of the things that we will be pushing for is the IESF. Napunta siya sa Bali, our plan is to make sure na why not sa Manila rin, pwede rin sa Philippines. TI, it’s time, bakit sa ibang bansa nakakapag TI sa Pilipinas pwede naman eh we’ve done events previously that are actually world class,” said Marcelo.
As part of the federation’s goal to ensure that the esports ecosystem in the country keeps going and make it accessible to Filipinos, Marcelo vowed to continue strengthening Sibol all while setting its sights on the hosting of the bigger esports events in the country.
“In a nutshell since PESO is a new organization, we are focusing on the battles that we’d win the war we focus first on Sibol because we know that the Sibol is kicker to what’s going to happen in the future so definitely sooner or later we will push forward for the esports events in the country,” he added.
“We will always reach for the stars,” assured Marcelo. “Nasa phase 1 tayo sa Sibol and sa phase 2 sa events and we will be making sure that the ecosystem goes in and then of course making sure that esports is accessible to all.”