ESL Heads to Manila on April 2016 with a $250,000 DOTA 2 Tournament

ESL, which is considered to be the world's largest esports company, is heading to the Philippines to bring ESL One Manila. Together with PLDT Fibr & Smart GameX, this South East Asian tournament will take place from April 23-24 2016 in the Mall of Asia Arena. lrich Schulze, VP of Pro Gaming at ESL, said of the announcement:

"ESL has been eager to bring ESL One to South East Asia, and with the Philippines’ rich Dota 2 history, we couldn’t think of a better place,” said Ulrich Schulze, VP Pro Gaming at ESL. “ESL One Manila by PLDT Fibr & Smart GameX will make history as the region’s largest esports competition to date, and we’re confident we can deliver a world-class experience to local and international fans both at the venue and online."

ESL One Manila by PLDT Fibr & Smart GameX marks a prize money milestone of US$750,000 in relation to ESL’s promise to pledge one million dollars in Dota 2 prize money over a twelve month period. The ESL One tournament series has taken Dota 2 to iconic locations such as the 2006 football World Cup stadium in Frankfurt, Commerzbank-Arena, and the famed Theater at Madison Square Garden in New York, both of which have been pioneering in their own right. ESL One Manila by PLDT Fibr & Smart GameX in the Mall of Asia Arena is set to be South East Asia’s largest esports event to date and will be ESL One’s first appearance on the Asian continent.

Tickets to ESL One Manila will go on sale starting December 8, 2015 at 6PM (GMT+8) at SMTICKETS and SMTICKETS outlets nationwide and will have a series of ticket choices:

• Weekend General Admission (P500)
  • 2-day access (Saturday April 23rd AND Sunday April 24th)
  • Seating in the upper ring of the arena
• Weekend Ticket Upper Rank (P1000)
  • 2-day access (Saturday April 23rd AND Sunday April 24th)
  • Seating in the middle box of the arena
• Weekend Ticket Lower Rank (P1500)
  • 2-day access (Saturday April 23rd AND Sunday April 24th)
  • Seating in the lower box of the arena
• Premium tickets (P5000)
  • Entry for Saturday April 23rd AND Sunday April 24th
  • Free food and drinks
  • Goodie Bag
  • Exclusive signing sessions
  • Premium seating in front of the stage

The competition will feature the top Dota 2 teams in the world, with a place reserved and dedicated for a local Filipino team.

ESL has provided a good amount of online and offline competitions. They brought big events such as the Intel® Extreme Masters, ESL One, ESL Pro Leagues, and StarCraft® II World Championship Series.

This is great news as we wrap up 2015, making 2016 a great year for eSports in the country. With the Philippines' growing Dota 2 community, it was only a matter of time that big organizations such as ESL would take notice and provide a huge competition inthe region such as ESL One Manila.

[Source:ESL One Manila]

Imperium eSports Bar Grand Opening

Last week we wrote about a brand new bar that opened up in Metro Manila - the country's first ever eSports bar. If you haven't read the article yet, you can do so HERE, but the long and short of it is, if ever you wished there was a sports bar that would show the latest in the competitive fighting game scene or competitive e-Sports such as Starcraft II rather than the normal bread and butter of the UFC, NFL, and other major sporting events, then your in luck. Imperium eSports Bar and Video Game Lounge, located on the 2nd Floor of the Metrowalk Commercial Complex in Ortigas, is just what you've been looking for, and for many a gamer - a dream come true.

The moment you enter the bar it already makes a big impression. Wall to wall televisions and monitors showing the latest and greatest in competitive gaming, with blue neon lights making you feel like you stepped into the latest TRON film. Behind the blue lit bar hum a set of consoles, waiting patiently for players. We were dying to get our hands on the Xbox One for some Killer Instinct, but sadly the game is yet to be made available in the Philippines.

Booze and Games = Perfect

Menu's are creatively placed inside used Xbox 360 cases, with a selection of regular bar fare and chow you'd expect, and also some uniquely named cocktails!

The menus are stored inside old Xbox 360 cases

The TMG gang were lucky enough to attend the grand opening last Thursday, December 13, and boy was it one heck of an event. The grand opening showed that the concept of an e-Sports bar definitely has a lasting appeal in the country, as the place quickly filled up as the night went on. Representatives from various online fighting game groups arrived in force as well, including Injustice Philippines, Smash Brothers Philippines, Tekken Philippines, Marvel vs Capcom Philippines,  and even a few curious passer-by's who were wondering what all the ruckus was about. Pretty soon the place was packed to capacity and the hype was at an all time high.

The company, the food, and the drinks were all great - but the highlight of course, were the competitive matches. Games ran the entire night, and through the entire gamut from NBA 2K14, to a 5v5 Heroes of Newerth match, to an imported copy of Blazblue: Chronophantasma and of course - MAHVEL BABY! Our very own Miggoy had the pleasure of commentating during the bouts of Injustice: Gods Among Us over their livestream. Oddly, Super Street Fighter IV: Arcade Edition was lacking from the line-up, but we are sure we'll be seeing that game in relatively short order.

Our very own Miggoy hypes up the Injustice stream

One of the biggest highlights of course was when 13 year old Filipino Tekken prodigy "AK" made an appearance. Currently ranked third in the world, it was an absolute pleasure to watch this young man play. In one of the funnier highlights of the night, rather than a money match happening, we saw a BURGER match, where whoever would be able to beat AK in a best of 3 would recieve a free burger. Sadly, many people went hungry that night, to say the least.

AK leaves no one doubting why he is #3 ranked in the world

Overall, the event was a grand success, and from what we saw at the grand opening, there's a bright future ahead for Imperium and for the local FGC and eSports scene. We had a chance to talk to one of the owners briefly, Mr. Raphael Gancaytco and we hope to have him soon on the TMG Podcast to talk about his inspirations and hopes for the future, so stay tuned for that!

Check out the recorded LiveStreams below!

Injustice: Gods Among Us Ultimate Edition 3 vs 3 Exhibition Match

Migo-san vs Haiku money match

Tekken Tag Tournament 2 AK Burger Battle

AK Vs. Garrett FT3 Exhibition

Ultiamte Marvel vs Capcom 3 Papable Peter Vs. Cha FT5 Exhibition

Papable Peter Vs. Garrett FT5 Exhibition

Garrett Vs. Cha FT5 Exhibition

You can find Imperium at Unit 6B 2nd Floor Metrowalk Commercial Complex Meralco Avenue, 1600 Pasig or contact them at 571-9534 or 09062487476. They are open from 5:00pm to 2:00am. Also check out their new Facebook page and follow them on Twitter.

Imperium, Philippines' First Ever eSports Bar [Updated with their rates and list of console games currently available]

A new bar just opened the other day and no, it's not just any bar. It's the country's first ever eSports bar! Known as "Imperium eSports bar and Video Game Lounge" or just Imperium, it is what it says it is. A bar that's also a video game lounge.

Aside from a selection of drinks, snacks, and a few alcoholic beverages, you can partake in a few video games as well. From PC games, to consoles, and even the newest next gen consoles, it's the perfect place to spark a few competetive matches while having a few rounds of beer all in one convenient location.

Their menus are stuffed in Xbox 360 games cases like game manuals and they even have a few items on the menu named after a few video game references. I remember one in particular called "The Captain Price" which had the description "Whiskey. Lots of whiskey.".

From what I saw, they have a total of 12 gaming PCs setup, a projector in the center showing what I think was a DotA2 livestream, 4 consoles (I think it was 2 or 3 PS3s and maybe 1 Xbox 360) setup near the entrance by the couch area, and 5 more consoles hooked up to TVs above the bar counter that I think were running 3 PS3s, 1 PS4, and 1 Wii U.

The inside of the bar has a Tron blue light thing going on and were blaring from club/dubstep/bloc party/dance music through their sound system.

I met up with a few friends to check the place out and played a few rounds of Injustice with them. Will definitely go back soon, especially once they get their Xbox One's running Killer Instinct. Ccccombo breaker!

You can find Imperium at Unit 6B 2nd Floor Metrowalk Commercial Complex Meralco Avenue, 1600 Pasig or contact them at 571-9534 or 09062487476. They are open from 5:00pm to 2:00am. Also check out their new Facebook page and follow them on Twitter.

[UPDATE]

Taken from the Imperium Facebook page.

ON THE CONSUMABLE ENTRANCE FEE:

Imperium e-Sports Bar and Video Game Lounge charges a 100 peso consumable entrance fee for people entering the bar. This fee is 100% consumale, and thus will be deducted from your bill the moment you bill out. As soon as you pay the entrance fee, you will be stamped signifying your payment. After you are stamped, you'll be allowed to leave and enter the bar within the same day without having to pay the fee again.

ON PC AND CONSOLE RATES:

Our rates for the PCs are 60 pesos per hour. For Open Time rentals, you will be charged an additional hour for every 15 minutes you consume after the previous. For example, if you use a PC for 1 hour and 10 minutes, you'll be charged 60 pesos, but if you use a PC for 1 hour and 15 minutes, you'll be charged 120 pesos, and if you use a PC for 2 hours and 15 minutes, you will be charged 180 pesos.

Our rates for the consoles are as follows:

For the Xbox 360 and PS3, it's 100 pesos per hour. For the Xbox One and PS4, it;s 120 pesos per hour.

At the present time here are the games we have available per console:

XBox 360 and PS3 - Ultimate Marvel Vs. Capcom 3 NBA 2K14 FIFA 14 Injustice: Gods Among Us - Ultimate Edition Madden 25 Need For Speed WWE 2k14 Battlefield 4 Tekken Tag Tournament 2 Call of Duty: Ghosts Street Fighter x Tekken Super Street Fighter 4: Arcade Edition

Xbox One - NBA 2K14 FIFA 14 Call of Duty: Ghosts Madden 25 Assassin's Creed 4: Black Flag

PS4 - NBA 2K14 Assassin's Creed 4: Black Flag Killzone: Shadow Fall Call of Duty: Ghosts FIFA 14

ON OUR PC GAMES:

All our PCs currently have the following games:

Dota 2 Heroes of Newerth League of Legends Smite Starcraft 2

Aside from these games, we will continue to install new games every few days to update our selection.