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SEA Games: E-sports receive warm welcome as Philippines stun Indonesia for gold
In a best-of-five match during the 2019 SEA Games, the host team Philippines stunned favorite Indonesia to claim the gold. The Philippines rebounded after losing 1-2 and ended the final round with a 3-2 victory.
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Indonesian e-sports national team competes against the Philippines in the final round of Mobile Legends during the 2019 Southeast Asian (SEA) Games at Filoil Flying V Center in Manila, the Philippines on Dec. 8. The Philippines won the gold medal. (Antara/Sigid Kurniawan)
O
n Sunday night, hundreds of spectators inside the Filoil Flying V Center San Juan City in Metro Manila, Philippines chanted “Philippines, Philippines” a number of times, making the indoor sporting arena far from quiet.
As the clock showed 11 p.m. local time, the spectators stayed in their seats and were not deterred from keeping their attention on a big screen in the center of the arena. They seemed to forget that they had to go to work or school the next morning.
It was not soccer or basketball, which has strong fan bases in the Philippines, that held their attention. It was the final of the electronic sports (e-sports) competition featuring Mobile Legends: Bang Bang between the host country and Indonesia that succeeded in gluing the spectators onto their seats.
E-sports had their debut as an official sport at the 30th biennial Southeast Asian (SEA) Games in the Philippines 30th edition.
Last year, e-sports, which is still under dispute about whether it is properly classified as a sport, received the opportunity to be exhibited in the 2018 Asian Games in Indonesia, a much bigger multisport event than the SEA Games.
In an attempt to make the competition more interesting to the fans, the Games organizers added entertaining attractions to the competition, including a kiss cam -- a common feature in United States' NBA games -- as well as quizzes with souvenirs as prizes during breaks.
