PLDT Home and Smart Communications have name Clutch Gamers as the country’s official representative in the much-anticipated Manila Masters, the first Philippine International premier Dota 2 tournament, which will be held from May 26 to 28 at the SM Mall of Asia Arena.
Clutch Gamers is composed of pro Dota 2 players Khim “Gabbi” Villafuerte, Armel Paul Tabios, Rafael Sicat “Rappy” Palo, Marvin “Boombacs” Rushton, and Kenneth “flysolo” Coloma. They have bested over 3000 other teams from the Philippines in the Nationwide Qualifiers, and will now be battling it out with seven of the world’s best.
So what’s at stake? the grand prize winner gets to take home $250,000 and the coveted title of being the first winner of the event.
“PLDT Home and Smart are one with the local gaming community in supporting our very own Clutch Gamers to show the world that Filipinos are a force to reckon with when it comes to competitive online gaming.”
“A strong and powerful connection is crucial in the world of e-sports and online gaming. As partners and supporters of the local gaming community, we are committed to giving our players access to world-class Internet to enable them to level up their game and help put the Philippines in the global gaming map.” – Oscar A. Reyes Jr., PLDT FVP and Head of Home Business
PLDT Home Fibr, the country’s most powerful broadband, is ideal for multiplayer and bandwidth-intensive games such as Dota 2, thanks to its capability to go as fast as 1 Gbps and allows for equal upload and download speeds, enabling gamers to enjoy a smooth, lag-free experience.
Powered by data-packed GigaSurf offers, Smart’s fastest LTE network allows gamers to constantly be updated with news about their favorite teams and stream anytime, anywhere. They can also purchase Steam wallet codes from the leading portal, GameX. As part of its support for Manila Masters, Smarts subscribers can get a chance to win tickets to this historic event by following the Telco’s official accounts on Facebook and Twitter. They can also livestream the event via Smart360 for an immersive on the go experience at 360.smart.com.ph.
The rise of e-sports
Last year marked many milestones for Philippine e-sports, as local players constantly rose among the ranks and put the Philippines on the global map. The county has also hosted a number of international gaming events.
“E-sports is already as massive as traditional sports. With 32 million active gamers in the Philippines, the community is a passionate voice that cannot be ignored. We will send off our Philippine team to compete in the world stage with active support and a commitment to accompany them all the way through nationwide coverage.” – Chot Reyes, TV5 President and CEO
“The Philippine scene already has a strong backbone, and Philippine teams and organizations are getting stronger by the day. This time we want to strengthen Southeast Asia as a whole, despite the inevitable challenges ahead. Now, with the Masters, we are going to move forward again.” – Ronald Robins, Mineski Franchise Corporation CEO
For more information, you may visit the official Manila Masters website, or smtickets.com for event passes.
Emman has been writing technical and feature articles since 2010. Prior to this, he became one of the instructors at Asia Pacific College in 2008, and eventually landed a job as Business Analyst and Technical Writer at Integrated Open Source Solutions for almost 3 years.
