The PSEU (Philippine Southeast Asian Games Esports Union) has announced Sibol as the Philippine national esports team that will compete in the 2019 Southeast Asian Games. The event, which will be held in the Philippines a few months from now in December, will be the first to include esports as a medal event.
Sibol will be competing in all six titles features in the esports event at the 30th SEA Games, including Dota 2, StarCraft II, Hearthstone, Arena of Valor, Mobile Legends: Bang Bang, and Tekken 7. The formation of the team will begin with the direct invitation of several outstanding Filipino esports athletes into the team’s training pool. The roster of directly invited players include:
Dota 2
- Carlo “Kuku” Palad
- Timothy John “Tims” Randrup
- Kim “Gabbi” Santos
- Armel “Armel” Tabios
- Nico “Eyyou” Barcelon
- Djardel “DJ” Mampusti
- Marc Polo Luis “Raven” Fausto
- Abed Azel “Abed” Yusop
- Michael “ninjaboogie” Ross Jr.
- Ryan Jay “Bimbo” Qui
StarCraft II
- Caviar “Enderr” Acampado
Arena of Valor
- Kevin Kio “Gambit” Dizon
- Jeremiah “1717” Camarillo
- Jevan Lorenzo “Bents” Delos Santos
- Lawrence Anthony “Rubixx” Gatmaitan
- Miguel Klarenz “Miggie” Banaag
Mobile Legends: Bang Bang
- Carlito “Ribo” Ribo
- Erwin “Yakou” Magno
- Jeniel “Haze” Bata-Anon
- Marc Danielle “Dee” San Luis
- Yuji “Yuji” Aizawa
- Angelo Kyle “Pheww” Arcangel
- Renz Carlo “Pein” Reyes
- Lester “Tets” Santos
- Ralph Mico “Coco” Sampang
- Mark “Dysania” Cruz
- Ephraim Jueinno “Ejhay” Sambrano
- Gerardo “Eson” Mark Jayson
- Jeff Franklin “Jeffqt4ever” Anaya
- Allan Sancio “Lusty” Castromayor
- Jason Rafael “Jay” Torculas
- Ashleymarco “Killuash” Cruz
- Kyle “Ryo” Berceño
Tekken 7
- Andreij Hosea “Doujin” Albar
- Alexandre Gabrielle “AK” Laverez
Hearthstone
- Jacinta “Jia” Dee
- Euneil “Staz” Javiñas
The rest of the training pool’s roster will be comprised of individuals who prove victorious in the ongoing open qualifiers, allowing any Filipino citizen over the age of 13 to get a chance to represent the country in the games. The qualifiers for Dota 2, Hearthstone, and Starcraft 2 will be done on August 10-11. Meanwhile, the Mobile Legends: Bang Bang qualifier will be held on August 14-16 and the Arena of Valor and Tekken 7 qualifiers will be on August 17-18.
The top two teams from Dota 2, the top two players from Hearthstone, and the top three players from StarCraft II will be included in the Sibol training pool. The top two teams from Mobile Legends: Bang Bang, the top team from Arena of Valor, and the top six players from Tekken 7 will also advance into the training pool. Once the Sibol training pool is complete, each player will be evaluated based on their mastery of their respective esports title as well as their compatibility with the rest of the team, among other factors
The training pool of around 74 players will be trimmed down to 27 members, seven each for each team games (Dota 2, Mobile Legends: Bang Bang, Arena of Valor) and two for each individual games(StarCraft 2, Hearthstone, and Tekken 7) to determine the final roster of esports athletes that will represent the Philippines in the 30th SEA Games. In charge of the selection process as well as handling the teams afterward will the roster of Sibol managers and coaches.
Dota 2
- Manager: Paulo Sy
- Coach: Paolo “SNDATA” Bago
StarCraft II
- Manager: Jess Joaustine “JackDReaper” Tamboboy
- Coach: Mark Ryan “eXoBLaZeR” Rapisura
Arena of Valor
- Manager: Neme Victa
- Coach: Rafael “Cyriux” Albert
Mobile Legends: Bang Bang
- Manager: Leo Andrew “Jab” Escutin
- Coaches: Michelle “Mits” Liwanag and Brian “Panda” Lim
Tekken 7
- Manager: Ron “Hot-E” Muyot
- Coach: Djamille “Naturelover” San Juan
Hearthstone
- Manager: Richard “Pompi” Castillo
- Coach: Jan Martin “Chalk” Zaldivar
Driving the search for athletes to comprise Sibol, the PSEU has partnered with Razer. “Esports has been at the heart of Razer since the beginning,” says David Tse, Global Esports Director at
Razer. “As the leading brand in esports, we have supported countless global events, teams, and athletes over the years and continue to push Esports to new heights. Now we are very excited
to help esports enter a new era, where it will be a medalled event for the first time in the SEA Games.”
“We are very excited to have Razer as our partner,” says Ms. Jane Basas, PSEU co-Chairman and President of Cignal TV. “The brand has been a consistent proponent of the recognition and
legitimacy of esports around the world. With their support, as well as our other partners, the PSEU is confident that the qualifiers for Sibol will bring out the best and most talented esports
athletes in the country. We stand firm in our goal of SEA Games gold, and we as a team pledge to support Sibol every step of the way.”
Aside from partnering with Razer, the PSEU has also partnered with Mountain Dew as its official power-up drink. Mountain Dew is not new to esports, and they want to continue their
commitments to the industry by pledging support to Sibol.
Select matches of the qualifiers will be streamed live on the Sibol Esports Facebook page (?FB.com/SIBOLesports?). Updates on the team and more information can be found on the official
website ?SIBOLesports.ph? and on the other social media pages (Twitter, Instagram) @SIBOLesports.