Why does Philippine esports remain Manila-centric?

MANILA, Philippines – For the past decade, the Philippine esports industry has significantly pushed its boundaries as an economic force that creates job opportunities and produces world-class talent who have won world titles and brought honor to the country.

But with the limited infrastructure, availability of events, and the corporate businesses supporting the industry primarily located in the capital region, is the esports dream really confined to the capital? If not, then why not expand opportunities to places thirsting for a chance at the professional esports scene?

The dilemmas of going regional

Let’s face it. Sustainability is one of the perennial challenges esports organizers face, let alone mounting tournaments that involve teams across different regions. As the esports industry itself heavily relies on corporate backing and sponsorships, brands often demand high visibility and high-density demographic reach, in which venues in Metro Manila usually deliver. 

And for regions outside the capital region, staging such huge-scale tournaments in regions outside the Metro often poses commercial risks for both the sponsors and the organizers. 

Another thing that people must take into consideration is the immense amount of resources that companies will be expending in staging these tournaments. On the local scale, local business owners also cannot risk losing resources and their hard-earned money, which makes it more difficult for organizers to win their trust.

From planning to execution, no business entity wants to waste resources on the risks of staging a nationwide-scale esports event, as all parties involved must be careful with the decisions that can affect their long-term scale on both the business and organizers’ sides. 

When I got the chance to speak with Lynelle Dave Lacapag, a 4th-year college student and the Public Relations Officer of Caraga State University – Gaming and Multiplayer Esports Enthusiasts (CSU-GaMEE), shared that they initially experienced hesitation from local businesses to sponsor their tournaments when they began organizing city-wide esports tournaments. 

Furthermore, he also noted that the rise of Team Execration’s Eljohn “Akashi” Andales, also a native of Butuan City, has eventually encouraged local businesses in their city to explore esports marketing and recognize the potential of the city’s gaming market.

“Our very big challenge right now is the community. We’ve already held a flagship tournament and even organized an event at a mall, but it’s still not enough,” Lacapag added. 

“We’ve had people comment on our posts saying they weren’t informed about the tournaments. We need a tool that can spread information beyond our own page so more people can know and participate.”

Lacapag also noted the lack of support from their university administration to hold esports events on campus, yet it did not stop their campus esports organization from producing esports athletes that went on to represent their university at the Mindanao Association of State Tertiary Schools (MASTS) Esports Tournament.

I also spoke to Ashley Jade Lobitaña, the former head organizer for the Ilocos Sur Festival Esports Tournament, who also seconded the notion, as she also shared her challenges in organizing community tournaments when she and her team began to organize the province-wide tournaments, and in looking for local sponsors within the province due to local businesses that are unwilling to sponsor the tournaments.

“Back then, we did not know the terminologies on how to organize esports tournaments such as ‘rulebook’ and the technicalities on how the gameplay should work to execute our tournaments efficiently. And also, if I think back then, one of the challenges we encountered was dealing with the players and looking for sponsors—that’s where we really struggled,” Lobitaña also shared.

Without the proper government support or even anchoring such sponsors, and until provincial venues and local sponsors can offset these risk factors, esports organizers will remain financially tethered to the capital. 

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Lack of grassroots tournaments

For the longest time, Metro Manila stood as the melting pot of Esports in the country. 

The capital region is home to the country’s biggest esports leagues and tournaments such as Mobile Legends: Bang Bang’s MPL Philippines, Honor of Kings’ Philippine Kings League, Valorant Challengers Philippines (VCL-PH), to name a few. 

The biggest collegiate esports leagues have also staged offline games in the Metro, such as the AcadArena Alliance Games (back in 2022 and 2023), Estudyante Esports: The National Championships, along with the UAAP (began in Season 87) and NCAA Esports (which started its Esports tournament in Season 100).

But step outside the Metro, and you will see the players’ thirst for opportunities that are concentrated inside the capital region, as players typically see themselves traveling from their respective regions just to compete in national finals of esports competitions held in Manila, which also adds to their burden of expenses.

Thus, a viable response to the growing demands of the competitive playerbase who are hungry to make it to the professional scene without expending too much money: Grassroots tournaments and official qualifiers of esports ecosystems towards the national stages.

Joshua “Jusuave” Villamar, a shoutcaster for Crossfire Philippines who moved to Cebu in late 2024, noted that the lack of community or regional grassroots tournaments limits esports opportunities outside the capital region, emphasizing the importance of local representation in such tournaments to allow players to showcase their talent.

“If we talk about specific titles, Crossfire included, I think it’s a great example of how you can give good representation. Because in open qualifiers, in fact, a lot of the teams in the Philippines, you’ll see a good mix of Luzon, Visayas, and Mindanao,” Villamar added. 

“In the recently concluded CFS Southeast Asia Masters, we had Team Stallions. The top 1 in the Philippines is Cebuano. We also have some mixed teams from Mindanao, from Davao as well.” 

At the same time, as Cebu is establishing its own esports ecosystem outside the capital and integrating it with the academe, thanks to the Cebu Schools Athletic Foundation Inc. (CESAFI) Esports League (CEL), while its member schools provide scholarship opportunities for professional esports athletes competing under their school’s banner. 

I also sat down with Ryan Abarquez Balbuena, CESAFI Executive Director and CEL’s Tournament Director, as he proudly shared the story of the early days of the league in 2022 up to its present growth four seasons after, as well as his wish that there were more fair esports opportunities across Luzon, Visayas, and Mindanao.

“I think Philippine esports has traditionally been centered in Metro Manila, which is completely understandable because most publishers, tournament organizers, sponsors, and companies are based there. But it also means that talented people from the Visayas and Mindanao often don’t get the same opportunities—not because they lack skill, but because they lack access,” Balbuena shared on why Philippine esports remained Manila-centric.

Balbuena also shared that for esports to grow as a whole, the current industry leaders must give every region a fair chance to contribute and an avenue for players to compete.

“For me, it’s really more about consistency when it comes to organizing regional tournaments. There are so many talented players in the Visayas and Mindanao. Instead of concentrating the major opportunities in just one region, I hope they’ll continue investing in regional grassroots tournaments,” Balbuena added.

Bridging the gap

If we are to bridge the gap in Philippine esports, we should act collectively to expand the scope of opportunities available in the industry for our dream of becoming the next esports hub in Southeast Asia to come into fruition. 

All stakeholders from the national government, relevant agencies such as the Department of Information and Communications Technology (DICT) and Games and Amusements Board (GAB), down to the Local Government Units (LGUs), the public and the private sectors, the Philippine Esports Organization (PeSO) as esports’ national governing body, the game publishers and the partners, including the academe, all must work hand-in-hand to push its bid in widening the scope of opportunities not only in Metro Manila, but expand it to a wider scale and empowering regions in the VisMin to widen their horizons in the fields of gaming, technology, and digital literacy.

Esports has undeniably established its permanence in modern society, forcing a long-overdue cultural shift. Yet, despite significant strides toward public acceptance, Philippine esports remains constrained by generational doubt. Classic dismissal phrases from “Kaka-cellphone mo ’yan” to “Laro lang ’yan” continue to anchor an outdated stigma, preventing the country’s gaming ecosystem from realizing its full potential. 

The talent is already here: But what’s missing is the structural support to launch regional players onto the global stage. Empowering the country’s esports potential does not mean dismantling Metro Manila’s established ecosystem. Instead, it requires incentivizing and backing the regional grassroots organizers who are actively cultivating grassroots communities, giving them the resources needed to prove our local talent can compete with the world’s best.

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