Welcome To The Age Of Esports

These days, a typical lunch break at the office looks like this: A bunch of your colleagues are huddled together, each one focused on their phones.

- Erik Paolo Escueta

A few of them bark orders, instructions that sound more militaristic than casual, like “Charge the bottom pass and support the lane!” instead of “Pass the ketchup.” One of them starts shouting emphatically, bellowing directions like a boss. Suddenly, a few of them throw down their phones, while several make a loud sigh and others cheer. It seems we found a victor for this round of Mobile Legends: Bang Bang, a popular MOBA (multiplayer online battle arena) mobile game in the vein of infamous internet café pastimes such as DOTA 2 and League of Legends.

And who can blame them?

When news broke that a Mobile Legends national team was being formed to fight for the gold in the first-ever eSports events of the 2019 Southeast Asian Games (although ML has been reportedly dropped for other eSports titles), it sparked a collective desire from Pinoy enthusiasts to give it a shot for a team spot, like an amateur athlete trying out for his favorite professional sports team.

Yes, the idea may seem ludicrous, especially a decade ago, for video and computer games to be categorized as legitimate sports. By today’s standards, however, it’s no longer just a pipe dream but a potential future. Chalk it up to gaming becoming the new three o’clock habit—a daily distraction with different servings and flavors for each target demographic of all ages. And as more people play, the more they’ll want to compete with one another, like ballers on a court in a pick-up match or runners on a track oval vying for the fastest lap.

It’s no wonder that eSports, the formal equivalent of gaming as a sporting event, has become so popular to penetrate mainstream awareness. But is eSports really that big of a deal?

THE WORLD’S A STAGE