Last November, Razer and the Philippine SEA Games Organizing Committee (PHISGOC) announced that esports will be a medal sport at the SEA Games 2019 happening later this year here in the Philippines. During the event, Razer and PHISGOC revealed the first confirmed title at the SEA Games, and that is Moonton’s Mobile Legends.
Just a few weeks after the event though, Razer and PHISGOC announced the five shortlisted esports titles for the SEA Games 2019. The five games are:
- On PC: Dota2 and StarCraft II
- On smartphones: Mobile Legends: Bang Bang and Arena of Valor
- On gaming consoles: Tekken 7
The sixth and final esports title of the 30th SEA Games is still undergoing evaluation, and it will be shortlisted in the coming weeks. What’s for sure though is that the final game is going to be a console game; PHISGOC and Razer plan to have two medal events for mobile games, PC games, and console games each. Each of the medal events will be will be open to teams of both men and women.
As regards the SEA Games 2019 esports title list, PHISGOC and Razer’s key selection criterion is diversity. A range of publishers, genres, and platforms were considered to make sure the most popular and competitive titles were represented. Aside from this criterion, each game’s strategy and teamwork component were also considered.
Razer co-founder and CEO Min-Liang Tan said, “In the three weeks since we announced esports as a medal event at SEA Games 2019, we’ve seen a phenomenal level of interest from all segments of the industry, most of all game publishers. The shortlisting of six games in such a short time is evidence that the notion of esports as a legitimate sporting event is no longer a fad. We look forward to having more partners come on board and join us in defining a new generation of sporting heroes for the youth and millennials.”
For more information on the esports side of SEA Games 2019, visit: razer.com/sea-games-2019.