Riot Games kicks off return of LOL competitive scene with Empyrean Cup

The Empyrean Cup signaled the return of the League of Legends competitive scene in the country and Riot Games Philippines is looking towards bigger events next year.

With fully booked slots in the Empyrean Cup qualifiers, it is clear that the LoL community in the Philippines is still alive and kicking.

Kimi Salazar, MOBA (Multiplayer Online Battle Arena) Brand Manager at Riot Games Philippines, considers the Empyrean Cup as a massive success and attributes the achievement to the game developer’s effort to heed the call and voices of the Filipino LoL community.

“Since Riot Games Philippines was established here last year, we’ve been constantly listening to what the community and what the players are saying. We want everyone to know that we hear you, we’re listening and this is why we’re doing this now. As we are scaling, building our team and all of our capacities here, the Empyrean Cup is only the first of what we’re going to do for the community,” Salazar said.

“For us, it’s very important that our Filipino players see that the Philippines is a priority market for APAC for League of Legends. We will continue investing, not just next year but also for the next couple of years, to elevate the competitive community and the gaming community again for League of Legends. This is but a first. Abangan ninyo.”

Guardian Hives, composed of rookie and veteran players in the LoL competitive scene, emerged as the Empyrean Cup champions after completing a sweep of the playoffs and took home the lion’s share of the 1-million prize pool of the tournament.

For GH’s Darwin “MIDKING” Santos, the Empyrean Cup is something that reignited the passion to compete among a lot of LoL players like him.

“Sobrang big deal sa akin ito kasi dapat tumigil na ako mag-LoL. Bumalik lang ako nung nag-announce ng Empyrean Cup. Nag-grind lang ako ng solo ulit then ‘yun. Good thing nagkaroon ng chance at opportunity na nakapasok,” he said.

The Empyrean Cup is just the start and LoL players can expect that more tournaments and bigger events will be held in the Philippines come 2024.