PH to host Asia Pacific Predator League 3

The top officials of Acer Philippines alongside ArkAngel PUBG team and Armel Tabios of TNC Predator grace the press launch of the 2020 Asia Pacific Predator League. Ivan Saldajeno

By Ivan Saldajeno

MANDALUYONG--The Philippines will be the host of the third Asia Pacific Predator League as announced in a special press event on Monday night at the 123 Block.

The said league, which will see DOTA 2 and PUBG teams from the Asia Pacific region, is set to commence next year.

"Next year, we will have 17 countries joining," Manuel Wong, the managing director for the Philippines of Acer, the makers of the Predator gaming computers, told Dugout Philippines the number of countries that will be represented in an event including the host nation.

And right now, Wong said that Acer's Philippine arm is very ecstatic about the upcoming event, which will take just a few months after the inaugural Southeast Asian Games eSports tournament that the Philippines will also host.

"At Acer Philippines, we are excited," he further said. "I'm looking forward to the event."

Singapore's participation has been confirmed as Reality Rift won the Singaporean qualifier last month.

Wong then confirmed that a venue has already been set.

"It will be held at the MOA (Mall of Asia) Arena," Wong bared. "It's very difficult to get the available schedule of MOA Arena, so we're happy to get a reservation already."

The MOA Arena was home to other DOTA 2 events like ESL One, Manila Major and Masters Manila.

But this time, a PUBG tournament will also be held at the said venue in Pasay.

"There are a lot of players of PUBG in the Philippines. I know that PUBG has a big player population here," Wong continued, implying that many will also look forward to the PUBG tournament.

ArkAngel's PUBG club was actually in attendance during the press launch, leaning to the possibility that the team, which is being sponsored by Predator, could get a direct invite to the tournament.

Also in attendance was TNC Predator's Armel Tabios, also signifying that the club will be a shoo-in as well especially that the team won the previous Predator League edition in Bangkok last February.

However, TNC Predator is surely not the only Filipino quintet in the cast as a Philippine qualifier is set to take place starting on Saturday at various TNC branches nationwide.

The top team from each regional qualifier will converge in the national finals set on Nov. 30-Dec. 1, where the winner will qualify for the main tournament.

"I hope with the hosting of [the Predator League], we can encourage more teams to join and develop more talent," Wong hopes.

Registration is now ongoing at predator-league.com.

Follow him on Twitter: @IvanSaldajeno