The Philippines is preparing to showcase its gaming talent at the Esports Nations Cup (ENC) in Riyadh later this year, after Filipino players qualified to compete for at least two titles in the inaugural competition. Saudi Arabia will host the first ENC in November, a biannual nation-based esports event featuring hundreds of players from over 100 countries competing across 16 esports titles over four weeks. The prize pool for this year's event is $20 million for players and coaches.
Philippine teams qualify for League of Legends and Valorant
A five-member Philippine team has qualified for the ENC's League of Legends tournament, while another Philippine team secured a direct invitation to compete in the Valorant tournament after placing among the top 10 in the game's official rankings. Marlon Marcelo, executive director of the Philippine Esports Organization (PESO), established in 2011, told Arab News: "The Esports Nations Cup is, like, the biggest competition aside from the Olympics because there are countries from all over. You’re not limited to Southeast Asia or Asian countries competing. You have European countries, American countries. It’s interesting for us."
Opportunity to showcase Philippine esports talent
Marcelo emphasized the significance of the event: "It’s a big opportunity for the country to showcase how good we are in the field of esports. In the grand scheme of things, we have an advantage, specifically in mobile games. That’s where we excel." The Philippines' national esports team, Sibol, also recently qualified for the Mobile Legends: Bang Bang competition at the 2026 Asian Games in Japan, which will take place before the Riyadh tournament. This back-to-back participation in global esports events reflects the increasing popularity of video games in the Southeast Asian nation, where mobile games have proven more popular than console games over the past decade.
Saudi Arabia becoming a main esports hub
With many esports athletes set to travel to Saudi Arabia, Marcelo noted that the Kingdom is becoming "the main hub and the league there is performing well. There are no major flaws when they host big events." The Philippine Esports Organization hopes to see Filipinos supporting in person when the athletes compete in Riyadh, as the Kingdom hosts hundreds of thousands of overseas Filipino workers. "I know there are a lot of Filipinos there. So when we reach the semifinals or, hopefully, the medal matches, we hope to see their support on-site," Marcelo said.
Competing in popular games
In Riyadh, the Philippines will compete for the top title in League of Legends, a multiplayer online battle arena video game with over 117 million active monthly users. Filipino players are also competing in Valorant, another team-based game that has gained immense popularity in Southeast Asia in recent years. Philippine teams are still trying to qualify for other games, including Mobile Legends: Bang Bang (MLBB), DOTA 2, Honor of Kings, and PUBG Mobile, for which qualifying rounds have yet to conclude.
