The official esports team supported by Smart Communications, Inc (Smart) - Smart Omega will be one of the professional teams to represent the Philippines in the upcoming Mobile Legends: Bang Bang M2 World Championships in Singapore!
Smart Omega is composed of six (6) professional Filipino Mobile Legends athletes, namely Kenneth Jiane “Kenji” Villa, Jeniel “Haze” Bata-anon, Salic “Hadji” Imam, Earin John “Heath” Esperana, Jankurt Russel “Kurttzy” Matira, and Adrian “Toshi” Bacallo. The team already has several awards under its belt, including multiple championships and top awards for The Nationals, Just ML competition, Juicy Legends Pro Division, and top awards during various MPL-PH Series. Kenji and Haze both won gold for the Philippines under the Smart-powered Team Sibol during the debut of the multi-platform esports category in the 2019 Southeast Asian Games. Haze also has the Challenger Summit Singapore Champion and the 2018 Southeast Asia Cyber Arena (SEACA) titles on his resume, among others.
M2 World Championships is scheduled on January 18 to 24, 2021 and is the first in-person competition for Mobile Legends since the pandemic began. Smart Omega will go against teams from Japan, Brazil, Cambodia, Indonesia, Malaysia, Myanmar, Singapore and Russia. Bren Esports will also represent the Philippines. Both teams are members of the Smart-backed Philippine Esports Organization (PESO), the official National Sports Association that govern and develop esports in the country.
The tournament will follow strict public health protocols during the games, and no live audience will be allowed in the venue to ensure the safety of the participants.
Jane J. Basas, SVP and Head of Consumer Wireless Business at Smart shares “Our support for Filipino esports athletes through the years is rooted in our firm belief that our players have the skills, talent, and dedication to be at par with the world’s best players. We hope that Smart Omega can be an inspiration to Filipino casual players and fans to help them realize and pursue their passion for esports,”
Smart has been active in the promotion of esports in the Philippines. Aside from Smart Omega, the telco company has also organized multiple Mobile Legends competitions nationwide made possible by PLDT and Smart’s integrated network.
For 2020, PLDT and Smart further accelerated the rollout of their fixed and wireless networks to deliver better customer service. PLDT's fiber infrastructure is now at more than 422,000 kilometers as of November and is the most extensive in the country. This fiber infrastructure supports Smart's mobile networks, which now cover 96% of the population and are present in 95% of cities and municipalities. Smart has also increased the number of its base stations to over 58,000 as of November as well as rolling out additional 5G base stations as it accelerates its 5G commercial services nationwide. In July, they unveiled the nation’s first-ever 5G-powered gaming hub and hosted the first mobile phone vs PC crossplay exhibition match via cloud gaming.
Smart teamed up with PESO and ESNAP to support the Philippine team to the very first Pacific Pro-Am NBA 2K20 Tournament, soon after their successful stint at the FIBA Esports Open. More importantly, the company also poured its support for Filipino esports athletes during the 2019 Southeast Asian Games.
For more information, visit > www.smart.com.ph
