Philippine Olympic Committee president Abraham “Bambol” Tolentino said on Sunday night that hosting the M5 World Championship is the first step in establishing the Philippines as an ‘esports country.”
Tolentino attended the grand finals of the M4 World Championship – which featured Filipino teams Blacklist International and ECHO – in Jakarta, Indonesia to announce the Philippines’ hosting of the next M-series.
“That will be the start siguro, ‘no?
“That will be a big start for us to be the center [of esports]. Ano na ba tayo? Three-peat na but not only that we’re also known for hosting big events in the Philippines,” said Tolentino, as the Philippines will also co-host the FIBA World Cup this year.
The Philippine Esports Organization (PesO) already made it known before that they wanted to host the Mobile Legends: Bang Bang world championship as well as different international tournaments like the VALORANT Masters and The International, to name a few.
The M5 World Championship is the first esports world championship that will take place in the Philippines.
The country, though, isn’t new to major international tournaments as the Philippines already hosted the Manila Major and ESL One Manila (Dota 2), MSC (ML:BB), and the 2019 Southeast Asian Games where esports first appeared as a medal event.
“We’re excited that the next M5 will be in the Philippines. We’re really excited to give you the best hospitality of the Filipinos. So see you guys in M5 in the Philippines,” said Tolentino during the M4 opening ceremonies.
ECHO won the M4 World Championship, beating Blacklist International following a dominant sweep in the grand finals. Both teams are expected to make a run for the two M5 slots in the MPL Philippines Season 12.
