On Sunday night, hundreds of spectators inside the Filoil Flying V Center San Juan City in Metro Manila, the 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’ National Basketball Association games — as well as quizzes with souvenirs as prizes during breaks.

It was a clever gimmick as more spectators filled the arena for the final round.

Sunday’s final of the Mobile Legend event, which started at 8:30 p.m., brought satisfaction to the fans as they enjoyed the battle on the screen and were allowed to cheer for their favorites.

From when the players started their battle, up until a champion was announced, the fans were more than eager to show their support, treating the intense final round just like any sporting showdown. In the best-of-five match, 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.

On paper, Indonesia, being a powerhouse in Mobile Legend, was the expected winner in the Games. 

In November, Indonesia dominated the 2019 Mobile Legend: Bang Bang World Championship in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, creating an all-Indonesian final. The championship ended with the EVOS Legends team defeating Rex Regum Reon (RRQ).

Despite the loss, Eko Julianto, a member of the Indonesian Mobile Legend national team, said he embraced the silver medal. Nevertheless, Eko said he had believed the team could do better in its first SEA Games. 

However, in general, he was happy with the e-sports competition in the Games.

“[The inclusion of e-sports] at the SEA Games is good. I hope that it could be included in [bigger sporting events] like the Asian Games and the Olympics,” he told journalists, claiming the competitive atmosphere during the Games was not as festive as in ones held at home. 

Meanwhile, Indonesian E-sports Association (IESPA) chairman Eddy Lim said the result achieved by the Mobile Legend national team was good enough as he felt that team Indonesia was just “out of luck”.

“They have done their best. During the SEA Games, the pressure was different. We provided the Indonesian team with a psychologist to assist its members,” said Eddy.

On the rise of e-sports, in the meantime, Newzoo, a market research firm for gaming and e-sports, has predicted that the new sport would continue growing, especially in SEA countries. One of the supporting factors, according to the firm, was the inclusion of it in the Philippines Games, reported foxsportsasia.com.

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