The host of tonight’s press con is Eri Neeman who also hosted the ESGS 2016 with our Editor-In-Chief, Bossmac Suba.
Why did they choose Manila?
Ulrich Schulze ESL, VP Pro Gaming explained to us why of all places, they choose to conduct the next ESL Dota 2 Tournament here in Manila
“Philippines as a country is so excited at eSports. “Everybody kinda knows all there is to know when it comes to eSports, they know the hero, the faces and the community. ESL Manila is our fastest selling event. What we will see in Manila will surely be one of the best Dota 2 Tournaments.”
The future of eSports here in the Philippines
Ronald Robins Mineski, CEO presented his insights in the eSports scene here in the Philippines.
“Two things why it is important. The industry of eSports here in the Philippines has always been left behind compared to china, Malaysia. There are more than 20companies coming to manila for ESL that will help grow eSports. Secondly the most important thing, as a founder of mineski, it is important to us to take care of the community. The community can now watch their idols play live. I’m gonna be a bit bias, but I hope that our Philippine team(Mineski) will push through. Laban Pilipinas!”
eHome’s LaNm, Liquid’s Kuroky, Secret’s Puppey, Empire’s Scandal, Complexity’s Swindle, Fnatic’s Ohaiyo and Mineski’s very own Julz were called to receive the official ESL One Manila Shirts.
Q & A
The Press Con had a Q&A portion which was answered by the PLDT-Smart Management, ESL One Management, and the Mineski CEO
Q: “How many attendees are we expecting in the event”
A: The number of attendees will be around 9,000 and tickets are sold out.
Q: ESL is a media highlight here in the Philippines, how do you take this event fair with the other events
A: ESL will certainly be fun and exciting. Why? Because this is the first ever major tournament and debut here in the Philippine scene and eSports is now becoming an entertainment. We have the 8 best teams in the world and for us this
Q: Do you feel some pressure like in competing in the UAAP volleyball championship?
A: I think that is a different sport but in gaming, this is the most very important event in the phillipines right now and TV5 will be airing the event live.
Q: If the big playerbase of Dota 2 in the Philippines, was it a factor in in choosing the PH?
A: Yes, if we move to a location that has a low player base, the level of excitement wouldn’t be the same.
Q: What will be looking forward for the future of manila? Will we some games being featured in the feature like CSGO?
A: Yes, we are working with mineski to make this happen. We’ve been doing this in a long time and we hope that we can bring different eSports titles
Q: What will be the indicator that ESL will be a yearly title here in the Philippines?
A: I think the Fanbase is the huge factor and the success of this event. We do ESL one every year and we will definitely be back next year. I cant make any promises in Dota 2 just because of the mass presence here but we’ll also try to bring other games like CS:GO which also has a big playerbase here in SEA”
