Esports, for the first time in history, will be a medal event in the upcoming 2019 Southeast Asian Games. Carrying our flag in this discipline will be Sibol, the Philippine national team for esports.
Sibol, which is the Filipino word for "growth," is an apt name for our national team as it signifies not only the rise of esports around the world but also the advancement of esports talent in the Philippines.
Flaunting our national colors, the Sibol logo is an amalgam of the leaf and the flame. The leaf symbolizes new beginnings while the flame represents the passion of the Filipino gamer. The shapes in the flame also subtly spell out the country's acronym, PHI.
Sibol will be competing in all six titles featured in the esports event of the 30th SEA Games, which include Dota 2, StarCraft II, Hearthstone, Arena of Valor, Mobile Legends: Bang Bang, and Tekken 7.
Sibol's quest for gold at the Games starts with assembling the national team. To start off, several outstanding Filipino esports athletes will be directly invited into the team's training pool. The roster of directly invited players include:
Dota 2
Carlo "Kuku" Palad
Timothy John "Tims" Randrup
Kim "Gabbi" Santos
Armel "Armel" Tabios
Nico "Eyyou" Barcelon
Djardel Jicko B. "DJ" Mampusti
Marc Polo Luis "Raven" Fausto
Abed Azel "Abed" Yusop
Michael "ninjaboogie" Ross Jr.
Ryan Jay "Bimbo" Qui
StarCraft II
Caviar "Enderr" Acampado
Arena of Valor
Kevin Kio "Gambit" Dizon
Jeremiah "1717" Camarillo
Jevan Lorenzo "Bents" Delos Santos
Lawrence Anthony "Rubixx" Gatmaitan
Miguel Klarenz "Miggie" Banaag
Mobile Legends: Bang Bang
Carlito "Ribo" Ribo
Erwin "Yakou" Magno
Jeniel "Haze" Bata-Anon
Marc Danielle "Dee" San Luis
Yuji "Yuji" Aizawa
Angelo Kyle "Pheww" Arcangel
Renz Carlo "Pein" Reyes
Lester "Tets" Santos
Ralph Mico "Coco" Sampang
Mark "Dysania" Cruz
Ephraim Jueinno "Ejhay" Sambrano
Gerardo "Eson" Mark Jayson
Jeff Franklin "Jeffqt4ever" Anaya
Allan Sancio "Lusty" Castromayor
Jason Rafael "Jay" Torculas
Ashleymarco "Killuash" Cruz
Kyle "Ryo" Berceño
Tekken 7
Andreij Hosea "Doujin" Albar
Alexandre Gabrielle "AK" Laverez
Hearthstone
Jacinta "Jia" Dee
Euneil "Staz" Javiñas
Joining them in the Sibol training pool are individuals who will prove victorious in the upcoming open qualifiers. Any Filipino citizen over the age of 13 can join the said qualifier. This will happen on August, and more details are going to be announced soon.
Once the Sibol training pool is complete, each player will be evaluated based on their mastery of their respective esport title as well as their compatibility with the rest of the team, among other factors.
Managers and coaches will be assigned per game, and they will be a part of the selection committee in charge of trimming the pool down to the final Sibol team that will compete in the SEA Games.
The final Sibol roster for the SEA Games will be composed of seven players each for team games (Dota 2, Mobile Legends: Bang Bang, Arena of Valor), and two representatives for the individual games (Tekken 7, Hearthstone, StarCraft II).