PHILIPPINES – The esports industry was quick to find its footing despite the widespread disruption caused by the COVID-19 pandemic. While physical events have been integral to the growth of gaming over the years, being an online at-home activity at its core has helped the industry flourish in a time when social distancing and remote interactions are paramount. The partnership between international smart device brand OPPO and premier esports and gaming organization Mineski Global is just one example of how companies pivoted at this period.
Among the pair’s milestones were its extensive lineup of online tournaments for mobile gaming where OPPO, as a major sponsor supported local events by making it more exciting with activities and giveaways that are relevant to help viewers and aspiring professional gamers to reach their goals of becoming pro gamers. These efforts also helped contribute to both the Philippine Pro Gaming League (PPGL) and the Mobile Legends Professional League (MPL) reaching record-breaking viewership numbers this year.
OPPO also worked to understand and integrate itself into the gaming ecosystem, and made efforts to drive authentic and sustained engagement with the community members. To that end, it created the OPPO Game On community on Facebook where professional and casual gamers could come together and share in their joy of esports in a safe and collaborative space. The group had its own community cup and also gave away exclusive perks and offered members opportunities to promote their own content. To date, it has already grown to nearly 60,000 members of gaming loyalists all over the country.
As hyper casual games have also grown in popularity this year, OPPO spearheaded the creation of OPPO-branded games with their newest OPPO Tower and Where’s Ollie that are now available on Mineski Global’s mgames platform now accessible on GCash. On it, guests can enjoy new games leisurely for free, anytime, and anywhere. It also hosts a promotional mode where interested guests can win big bonuses amounting up to PHP 1M. Based on the latest statistics, both games have reached over 600,000 players combined.
As another show of unceasing solidarity, OPPO played an integral role in supporting the growth of local talents, specifically with Blacklist International who just claimed a triumphant win in the M3 World Championships last December 2021. The team was signed as OPPO’s newest gaming ambassadors in June of this year and since then, OPPO has supported them through mobile devices and financial support. Together with OPPO and Mineski, the local esports community celebrated the team for raising our flag and for proving once again that the Filipino esports talent is not to be overlooked.
“The local esports industry in the Philippines has been bursting at the seams with talent for years and we are proud to have played a part in realizing that potential into concrete, sustainable results. Our partnership with Mineski has allowed us to extend support to the growing esports community and we’re very happy with what we’ve achieved together,” said Ele Yu, Marketing Director of OPPO Philippines.
“2021 has been a remarkable year for Philippine esports. We have proven through our programs and esports infrastructure that the country can develop top talent with teams rightfully earning local, regional, and global accolades across different esports titles. We saw the growth of the mobile gaming market and how Filipinos stood out in the biggest mobile game tournaments such as the League of Legends: Wild Rift Icon Series and the Mobile Legends Professional League. Two All-Filipino teams made it to the finals of M3, where Blacklist International brought home their 2nd championship. We are beyond grateful for OPPO’s support to the gaming community,” said Mark Navarro, Mineski Philippines Country Manager.
Two years down the road from the pandemic and gamers can continue to expect bigger and better things for Philippines esports, especially in mobile gaming. Stay tuned for more updates on OPPO’s and Mineski’s esports activities! For more information, visit the official OPPO Philippines and Mineski Philippines Facebook pages.