Razer announces official esports partnership with 2019 Southeast Asian Games
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Esports is here and it can only get bigger. Today, the multi-million-dollar industry has once again made history after being officially enlisted as a medal sport for the 2019 Southeast Asian Games, an eleven-country international multi-sport event that will be hosted by the Philippines.
The momentous announcement was made jointly by Razer, a global lifestyle brand for gamers and the official esports partner for the SEA Games 2019, and Philippine SEA Games Organizing Committee (PhilSGOC) chairman, Alan Peter Cayetano, in a press conference held earlier today in Pasay City.
“The Philippines is the first host country to stage an esports tournament as a medal event. This lends credence to professional gaming as a true world-class sporting contest, as it engages a new generation of gaming fans,” Cayetano stated. “Gamers are an important part of our community and we are very thrilled, excited, and honored to be the first Southeast Asian games to have not only gamers but Razer as a partner,” he added.
Razer co-founder and CEO Min-Liang Tan have been leading the recognition of esports as a medal event at the SEA Games 2019 over the past year. A Razer delegation has been meeting with the PhilSGOC and the Philippine Olympic Committee (POC) on multiple occasions to achieve this historic goal.
In October, esports has been listed together with arnis, jujitsu, kickboxing, kurash, lawn bowls, obstacle course, floorball, sambo, skateboarding, underwater hockey, and vovinam, as one of the approved sports under Category 3.
As the official esports partner of SEA Games 2019, one of Razer’s responsibilities includes facilitating of discussions between PhilSGOC and various game publishers to select the games that will be featured at The SEA Games esports tournament. The final line-up of esports titles will be revealed in the next few months, but the hit mobile Multiplayer Online Battle Arena of Moonton, Mobile Legends: Bang Bang, has already been secured.
“SEA Games 2019 is the perfect platform to propel Mobile Legends: Bang Bang into the big leagues, given our strong user base here as well as the region’s fast-growing youth and millennial population. Razer’s role as the official esports partner gives us confidence that the tournament will be nothing short of phenomenal. We look forward to seeing Southeast Asia’s best Mobile Legends: Bang Bang players face off against each other,” Justin Yuan, CEO, and co-founder of Moonton Games, said.
Alvin Juban, one of the ad hoc committee members of the SEA Games, said that the esports tournament will include two PC games, two mobile games, and two console games. Meanwhile, Joebert Yu, President of the Esports National Association of the Philippines, also confirmed that the esports tournament for the SEA Games 2019 will be open to all Filipino citizens.
Earlier this year, the Jakarta Palembang 2018 Asian Games featured League of Legends, Starcraft II, Hearthstone, Arena of Valor, Clash Royale, and Pro Evolution Soccer 2018, not as a medaled event, but as a demonstration sports.
Esports in the SEA Games 2019 is accredited by the Asian Electronic Sports Federation.
