MANILA, Philippines – Leading mobile services provider Smart Communications, Inc. (Smart) and its online gaming portal GameX have teamed up with game publisher Blizzard Entertainment to host the Hearthstone Southeast Asia Finals, the region’s biggest Hearthstone competition set at the Meralco Theater in Ortigas on Sept. 20.
Launched in 2013, Hearthstone pits two online players in an exciting card battle where they cast spells, use weapons, or summon ‘minions’ to compete on their behalf. The game allows players to select different exciting modes in a fast-paced gameplay, making it the top online collectible card game in the world today.
With the game’s massive popularity in Southeast Asia, Blizzard allowed gamers from all over Malaysia, Philippines, Singapore and Thailand to determine the host country in an extensive online campaign. In the end, the passionate Filipino gaming fans edged out their Malaysian counterparts to win in the final head-to-head vote.
Gates open at 12:00 noon. Admission is free via pre-registration. Smart will also be releasing special VIP tickets to lucky subscribers.
Pinoy’s Passion for Gaming
“We are happy to have the Philippines host the Hearthstone Southeast Asia Finals. The Philippine players have always been one of the most passionate members of our community, and we are excited to be able to bring this event to them,” said Alan Chou, Director of Publishing, Blizzard Entertainment Southeast Asia.
“Smart is honored to team up with Blizzard for this groundbreaking search for Southeast Asia’s best Hearthstone players,” said Mellissa Limcaoco, Head of Smart’s Innovation and Product Development Group which developed GameX. “This is proof of the Filipinos’ passion for gaming, which is the main reason why Smart leads in supporting eSports events and continues to give our subscribers the widest breadth of games and entertainment so they can experience the Smart Life.”
Shot at the USD$250,000 Prize Pool
The event will gather eight top players from across Southeast Asia, along with international casters TJ “Azumo” Sanders, Erik “DoA” Lonnquist and Chris “PapaSmithy” Smith. The games will be streamed live on www.twitch.tv/playhearthstone starting from 1:00 p.m onward.
The winner will then fly to Taiwan for the Asia-Pacific Regional Championships that includes players from Japan, Taiwan, Korea and Australia, and the top players will advance to the finals at the BlizzCon® 2015 set in California in November for a shot at the US$250,000 prize pool.
Exclusive Card Back for attendees
Players who attend the event will receive a special “Power Core” card back to their accounts. This can only be redeemed by attendees on site.
On the other hand, first-time GameX subscribers will a receive a Hearthstone Expert Card Pack for free, and enjoy direct purchases, features and add-ons using the portal.
The Hearthstone Southeast Asia Finals follows a string of big eSports event that Smart and GameX have mounted in celebration of eSports and mobile games, which have become a passion among many Filipinos.
Smart subscribers can enjoy all their favorite mobile games with Big Bytes offers that now come with FREE access to music on Spinnr and videos on Fox and iFlix for a complete entertainment on-the-go experience.
