PHILIPPINES Law and Practice Contributed by: Ignatius Michael D Ingles and Daphne Marie M Gomez, Law Firm of Ingles Laurel Calderon
There are also private organisations like Go Hard Girls that advocate for the rights and interests of women in sports, extending beyond female athletes. 9. Esports 9.1 Development and Growth of Esports Esports is extremely popular in the Philippines. Its rise from the early 2000s to the present has been exponential. It is predominantly mobile-based, with the Mobile Legends: Bang Bang (MLBB) being the most popular game with more than 25 million monthly active users in 2020. An estimated 43 million Filipinos take part in esports or mobile gaming. The Philippines continues to be a strong force in esports, particularly in MLBB. In 2025, the Philippines won its fourth consecutive gold medal in the South- East Asian Games and won the championship against the top contender, Malaysia, in the MLBB Mid-Season Cup. Philippine esports dominance has also been expand - ing outside MLBB. In 2025, Patrick Mendoza became the first ever Filipino to win a major international Val - orant tournament, winning the VCT Masters Toronto 2025. He also won Rookie of the Year and Initiator of the Year. The Philippines also brought home two silver medals and two gold medals in Call of Duty Mobile (CODM) in the CODM World Championship 2025, Garena Masters 2025 S9, Garena Summer Invita - tion 2025, and Garena Masters 2025 S8. A Philippine CrossFire Stars team also reached the highest place - ment by a Philippine team in a first-person shooting game, finishing in the top four at the Esports World Cup and as runner-up at CrossFire Stars 2025. In 2025, the Philippines hosted the HoK Invitational S3, a global Honor of Kings tournament, and the Hon - or of Kings International Championship 2025. 9.2 Key Trends and Notable Deals in Esports Philippine esports in 2025 saw growth outside MLBB and outside mobile games in general. As mentioned in 9.1. Development and Growth of Esports , Philip - pine teams have seen global recognition in various esports games outside MLBB. Moreover, Honor of
Kings, another esport game that the Philippine teams fared well in in 2025, has officially surpassed MLBB in popularity, measured by estimated monthly users in the Philippines. Another notable trend is the increase in popularity of collegiate competitions, reflected in both participa - tion and improved performance. In 2025, the National University’s MLBB team became the first ever cham - pions of the inaugural Galaxy Gaming Academy X Mobile Legends: Bang Bang Campus Series 2025. Two major national collegiate leagues, Philippine Col - legiate Championship and Alliance Games, which are in their third and fifth seasons respectively, have rec - ognised this trend and have responded by expand - ing their competition to include other games beyond MLBB and by increasing prize pools. The biggest inter-university sports tournament in the Philippines, the University Athletic Association of the Philippines (UAAP), officially introduced esports in 2024 with three games – NBA 2K24, Valorant and MLBB. Likewise, the biggest inter-college sports tour - nament, the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) officially launched a special tournament for MLBB in 2025. Unlike the UAAP, the NCAA has yet to fully incorporate esports in the main sports member schools compete in. In 2025, the MLBB tournament was a stand-alone event in the NCAA. A notable deal in 2025 was DITO Telecommunity’s partnership with Team Liquid PH. DITO is a growing telecommunications company in the Philippines, while Team Liquid PH is the Philippine team of the Swiss- based esports organisation, Team Liquid. The partner - ship was timely for DITO, as it began before the 2025 MLBB Mid-Season Cup. In the tournament, Team Liquid PH wore DITO-branded shirts and ultimately emerged victorious, defeating the defending champi - ons in the finals. This was great exposure for DITO, a growing telecommunications company competing in an industry of well-established giants. Another notable deal is Visa’s partnership with GCash, the Philippines largest cashless payment app, as part of Visa’s expanding investment in global esports. In the Philippines, it has partnered with GCash to make in-game payments faster, safer, and more accessible.
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