CEBU CITY, Philippines – This weekend, May 23 to 24, the Call of Duty: Mobile (CODM) Garena Summer Festival 2026 heads to the SMX Aura Convention Center in BGC, Taguig for a two-day celebration of the Philippines’ biggest in-person (CODM) event.
Running around the theme “Connect, Compete, Celebrate,” the festival will bring together professional players, content creators, clans, and fans from across the region for a packed weekend featuring the biggest offline CODM events ever hosted in the country.
The event will be highlighted by the Garena Elite Philippines (GEP) 2026 Finals and the Garena Summer Invitational (GSI) 2026 Finals, marking several milestones for Philippine esports.
RELATED STORY: Esports World Cup 2026 heads to Paris, France
GSI 2026 will be the first offline edition of Garena’s regional summer tournament and the first regional CODM LAN tournament ever hosted in the Philippines.
Meanwhile, GEP 2026 will be the country’s first local CODM LAN event to feature both Multiplayer (MP) and Battle Royale (BR) on one stage.
What is the Garena Summer Festival 2026?
The Summer Festival serves as CODM Garena’s major seasonal community and esports celebration for the Philippines.
Alongside the tournaments, fans can expect creator showmatches, meet-and-greets, merchandise booths, clan activations, community activities, and major announcements regarding the future of CODM esports in the region.
RELATED STORY: Philippine Collegiate Championship Season 4 kicks off bigger than ever
Garena will also unveil updates for the second half of 2026, including upcoming tournaments such as Garena Survivors, a new regional Battle Royale invitational, and a partnership with the Philippines Collegiate Championship.
One of the event’s standout features is the Bakunawa-inspired championship trophy for GSI 2026, drawing from Filipino mythology to symbolize unity and strength within the CODM community.
Day 1 (May 23): Garena Elite Philippines (MP and BR tournament)
The first day of the festival will focus on Garena Elite Philippines 2026, the country’s premier local CODM competition featuring both Multiplayer and Battle Royale divisions with a combined $40,000 prize pool.
The MP tournament will begin at 10:30 AM – 1:00 PM for the semifinals, featuring four teams battling in a single-elimination bracket.
This will be participated in by SKAERI, MG OBLIVION, AMG NOCTURNAL, and Elunari X.
SKAERI enters as one of the more experienced squads after already competing in Garena Masters and GSI qualifiers, and team MG OBLIVION looks to continue its rapid rise after an impressive debut season featuring a roster of former pro players.
AMG NOCTURNAL and Elunari X, meanwhile, arrive as hungry challengers eager to make a statement on LAN.
After the opening ceremony and show matches from grassroots clans and KOLs, the grand finals for the MP tournament follows at 2:30p.m., for the chance to be crowned as the first-ever Garena Elite Philippines’ MP kings.
At 6:00p.m., attention shifts to the BR Finals, where 10 squads will battle across six maps to crown the country’s best Battle Royale team.
The finalists are:
- LEAP UNBOUND
- GNR ESPORTS LEGACY
- RIGID TSG
- 4KINGS
- IMMORTALS ESPORTS EXODUS
- 4K JOKER
- GNR ESPORTS ETERNAL
- M12 sYn MAIN
- UNBOTHERED MAIN
- ADMT EMERALD
Among the favorites are LEAP UNBOUND, GNR Esports Legacy, 4KINGS, and RIGID TSG.
These four teams are widely regarded as one of the strongest BR teams in Garena, whose organizations continue to bring deep experience into the LAN environment.
Day 2 (May 24): Garena Summer Invitational Finals
The spotlight intensifies on Sunday with the Garena Summer Invitational 2026 Finals on the second day of the festival, featuring a $60,000 prize pool. The best teams from the Southeast Asian region (Singapore, Malaysia, Taiwan, HongKong, Macau, Thailand, Indonesia, Philippines) competed in two grueling months for a right to play in the offline grand finals.
In a massive statement for the host nation, all three of the remaining teams who qualified for the Finals are from the Philippines, marking the strength of the country in the game.
The top three teams fighting for country and regional glory are Alula Club, Elevate, and Team Star Magic.
Alula Club
Roster: Shan Rouise ‘FDx’ Mateo, Averson ‘Skerd’ Salaya, Lucas Joia ‘LUCASZIN’ Ferreira, Andhika ‘Clove’ Putra, Jhairylle ‘Jhai’ Calano
Alula Club enters the event as arguably the hottest team in the region after finishing the group stage undefeated.
Built around the former Stalwart Esports core alongside Brazilian standout Lucaszin, Alula has quickly developed into one of the most explosive teams in CODM Garena.
Their aggressive playstyle and mechanical consistency have made them tournament favorites heading into Manila after equally impressive showings in the Chinese CODM tournament (CDM), where they finished as runner-up.
Elevate
Roster: John Kenneth ‘KenDy’ Pimentel, Justin ‘Susanoo’ Cecilio, John ‘Yop1’ Manalang, Karlo ‘kLo’ Morales, Patrick ‘Peejay’ Sagudo
Few teams in CODM history carry the pedigree of Elevate.
The former world champions remain one of the region’s most battle-tested squads after completing a historic “Golden Road” in 2024 by winning multiple major titles, including the CODM World Championship.
Now, they return to another major LAN event looking to reclaim regional dominance after recently exacting revenge against Q9 during CDM 2026.
Team StarMagic
Roster: Gian ‘Yato’ Socao, Josh, Jibi, AJ ‘Eiji’ Agbing, RexNL (WIP)
Team StarMagic enters as the tournament’s dark horse.
The squad has quietly built a reputation for disciplined tactical gameplay and consistent performances in major qualifiers.
Despite facing more experienced opponents, StarMagic has repeatedly proven it can compete against elite competition.
Whether or not they can take a series off perennial contenders Alula and Elevate remains to be seen, and they will be tested in their first offline match.
GSI schedule and format
The GSI playoffs begin at 12:00 PM on May 24, with the semifinal 1 match being Alula Club vs Elevate.
The semifinal 2 match will be Team StarMagic vs whoever is the loser of semifinal 1, while the Grand Finals will be the winner of semifinal 1 vs winner of semifinal 2.
The top two teams from GSI 2026 will also earn direct qualification to the Group Stage of the 2026 Garena Qualifier for the CODM World Championship.
More than just esports
Outside the competition, the Summer Festival will feature appearances from several creators and personalities from the CODM community, including Myrtle Gail, Sharlene San Pedro, Doc Z, Holyfather, Tokyo, Patsy Reyes, Wagner, Donnn, and many more.
Fans can also participate in creator showmatches, community games, and clan activities throughout the weekend.
There will also be merchandise for sale at the venue, as well as interactive booths for everyone to participate in.
Garena will additionally honor 15 standout community players through a Hall of Fame initiative recognizing achievements such as highest rank progression, most eliminations, and longest playtime.
The event is open and free to the public, with the need to just pre-register into the event’s official page/website.