Smart Omega, the official esports team supported by mobile services provider Smart Communications Inc (Smart), will be one of the professional teams that will represent the Philippines in the upcoming Mobile Legends: Bang Bang M2 World Championships in Singapore.

Happening on Jan. 18-24, 2021, the M2 World Championships will be the first in-person competition for Mobile Legends since the pandemic. Professional teams from Brazil, Cambodia, Japan, Indonesia, Malaysia, Myanmar, Russia, Singapore, and the Philippines will battle it out in the biggest ML competition in the world.

Aside from Smart Omega, 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 governs and develops esports in the country.

PLDT-Smart Omega wins The Nationals Mobile Legends Conference

Smart unveils first 5G-powered esports hub in PH

Esports athletes and management teams who will participate in 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.

Philippine esports

“There are over 43 million gamers in the Philippines’ growing esports industry. This global competition would mean a lot to our mobile esports community and we could not be prouder to support our very own Smart Omega team as they represent our flag in the world stage,” said Alfredo Panlilio, president and CEO, Smart.

Smart Omega is composed of six professional Filipino Mobile Legends athletes including Kenneth Jiane “Kenji” Villa, Jeniel “Haze” Bata-anon, Salic “Hadji” Imam, Earin John “Heath” Esperana, Jankurt Russel “Kurttzy” Matira, and Adrian “Toshi” Bacallo.

The young pro team has won multiple championships and received top awards for The Nationals, Just ML competition, Juicy Legends Pro Division, and during various MPL-PH Series.

Two of the players have also represented the country in several global tournaments. 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.