The Nationals (esports)

The Nationals
Upcoming season or competition:
Current sports event Road to The Nationals
Sport Electronic sports
Founded 2018
Inaugural season 2019
No. of teams 6
Country Philippines
TV partner(s) ESPN 5
Level on pyramid 1
Relegation to None
Official website thenationalsph.com

The Nationals is an upcoming electronic sports (eSports) league in the Philippines which will have its inaugural season in 2019. It will be the first franchise-based electronic sports in the Philippines. The tournaments are sanctioned by the eSports National Association of the Philippines (ESNAP).[1]

History

Establishment

The Nationals was first announced in June 2018 with its inaugural season set to commence in the first quarter of 2019. The league will feature four titles. Smart Communications and PLDT Home will be organizing the Road to The Nationals, a separate tournament to be held in ten locations across the Philippines from August to November 2018 to help the initial teams of the esport league to scout for players. The Nationals is envisioned to act as the main pool for national eSports athletes who will compete for the Philippines in international tournaments such as the Asian Games.[2]

The league has six founding corporations:[3][4]

  • TheNet.Com
  • HappyFeet Esports
  • BrenPro Inc.
  • Cignal TV Inc.
  • PLDT Inc.
  • STI Education Systems Holdings, Inc.

Road to The Nationals

The Nationals was officially launched on July 24, 2018 in a press conference. In the same event, the "Road to The Nationals" a series of qualification tournament to determine the players of the six franchise teams to compete in The Nationals' inaugural season was announced. Three qualifiers for each of The Nationals three video game titles will be held.[5] These tournaments will run from August to October 2018 with the qualifying eight teams from each of the three titles competing in the final qualification tournament at the Electronic Sports and Gaming Summit 2018 to be held from October 27 to 28 at the SMX Convention Center in Pasay.[6]

The winning teams will be given millions of pesos in prize money and a chance to get drafted in one of the six franchise teams of The Nationals.[5]

Teams

The six founding corporate partners of The Nationals will field teams for the inaugural season of the eSports tournament. As of August 2018, two more franchise slots are still open which if filled would see eight teams participating in The Nationals.[7]

Team Company Joined The Nationals
TNC Pro Team TheNet.Com 2018
HappyFeet HappyFeet Esports 2018
Bren eSports BrenPro Inc. 2018
Cignal Ultra Cignal TV Inc. 2018
Name to be announced PLDT Inc. 2018
Name to be announced STI Education Systems Holdings, Inc. 2018

Organization

League model

The league will follow a franchise model, the first eSports league in the Philippines to adopt such format. Other franchised based leagues in the country are the Philippine Basketball Association, the Philippine Super Liga, Premier Volleyball League, and the Philippine Football League.[8] The Nationals is recognized by the eSports National Association of the Philippines[5]

Video game titles

Three titles, belonging to three categories: PC gaming, Mobile gaming, Console gaming, will be contested in The Nationals.[5] A fourth title as wildcard was reportedly considered.[2] Gariath Concepts will handle the operations and logistics of the league.[2]

On July 24, 2018 two titles for The Nationals were confirmed: Dota 2 for PC Gaming and Mobile Legends for Mobile gaming. As of that date, two titles are being considered for the Console gaming category: NBA 2K19 and Tekken 7.[5] NBA 2K19 was confirmed as the third title by August 2018.[9]

The Nationals video game titles
Title Category
Dota 2 PC Gaming
Mobile Legends Mobile Gaming
NBA 2K19 Console Gaming

Players

The players of the inaugural 2019 The Nationals season will be drafted among the winners of the Road to The Nationals qualification tournaments to be held in the latter half of 2018.[5] The organizers of The Nationals meant to make electronic sports as a professional career with players to be given monthly salaries ranging from ₱40,000 to ₱50,000.[10] Minors are eligible to compete if they have waivers from their parents consenting their participation.[11]

Sponsorship

The first financial firm to become a sponsor of the league was the Rizal Commercial Banking Corporation (RCBC) which announced its sponsorship deal with the league on October 2018 to specifically promote its MyWallet Virtual Card service.[12]

Broadcasting rights

Matches of The Nationals will be aired live in the Philippines in ESPN 5.[2]

References

  1. ↑ Abad, Roderick (July 24, 2018). "TV5-ESPN5 launches Esports league". BusinessWorld. Retrieved July 24, 2018.
  2. 1 2 3 4 "The Nationals is first esports franchise league in PH". ESPN 5. 14 June 2018. Retrieved 16 June 2018.
  3. ↑ Ashton, Graham (14 June 2018). "Multi-Game Franchised League to Launch in the Philippines With Six Corporate Partners". The Esport Observer. Retrieved 16 June 2018.
  4. ↑ Fitch, Adam (15 June 2018). "The Nationals franchised league announced for the Philippines". Esports Insider. Retrieved 16 June 2018.
  5. 1 2 3 4 5 6 Ansis, JC (25 July 2018). "Road to The Nationals: Searching for esports pro athletes in the Philippines". Retrieved 25 July 2018.
  6. ↑ Agustin, Ram Christian (24 July 2018). "The Nationals give PH esports industry a boost". Manila Standard. Retrieved 25 July 2018.
  7. ↑ Abad, Roderick (24 July 2018). "TV5-ESPN5 launches Esports league". BusinessMirror. Retrieved 25 July 2018.
  8. ↑ Saldajeno, Ivan Stewart (16 June 2018). "1st eSports franchise league to be launched in PH". Philippine News Agency. Retrieved 16 June 2018.
  9. ↑ "PLDT, Smart kick off 'Road to Nationals' open eSports tournament". Manila Standard. 7 August 2018. Retrieved 10 August 2018.
  10. ↑ "TV5 eyes e-sports promotion with pro tournament". BusinessWorld. 25 July 2018. Retrieved 25 July 2018.
  11. ↑ Camus, Miguel (25 July 2018). "TV5 betting on e-sports; moves to lure gamers". Philippine Daily Inquirer. Retrieved 25 July 2018.
  12. ↑ "RCBC MyWallet powers first PH ESports League". BusinessMirror. 11 October 2018. Retrieved 15 October 2018.
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