Smart Omega, Bren Esports to represent PHL at Mobile Legends World Championships

Smart Omega is one of the professional teams that will represent the Philippines in the upcoming Mobile Legends: Bang Bang M2 World Championships in Singapore.

In a release by Smart Communications, it said Smart Omega, the official esports team supported by the company, would compete at the M2 World Championships on Jan. 18 to 24.

Apart from Smart Omega, Bren Esports will also represent the Philippines. Both teams are members of the Philippine Esports Organization (PESO), the official national sports association that govern and develop esports in the country.

Professional teams from Japan, Brazil, Cambodia, Indonesia, Malaysia, Myanmar, Singapore, Russia, and the Philippines will battle it out for the $300,000 prize pool in the biggest ML competition in the world.

The upcoming M2 World Championships will be the first in-person competition for Mobile Legends since the pandemic began.

The esports athletes and management teams who will participate in the tournament are expected to 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.

Smart Omega is composed of six professional Filipino Mobile Legends athletes, namely 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 and talented pro team already has several awards under its belt, including multiple championships and top awards for The Nationals, Just ML competition, Juicy Legends Pro Division, and top awards 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 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 other citations. – RC, GMA News