The country’s Youth E-sports Program (YEP) is seen getting a shot in the arm following an agreement it signed with popular online gaming publisher Riot Games Southeast Asia.
One of the key advantages of the partnership is that students who are part of YEP will gain access to Riot’s speakers through workshops and career talks, participation in activities organized by the publisher, and other support for student initiatives. Among these initiatives include weekly Legend of Runeterra tournaments for YEP chapter organizations, Valorant content contests, and more.
The partnership also marks the inclusion of Valorant as an official tournament game in soon-to-be-announced national cross-campus e-sports league throughout the Philippines.
Valorant is a popular tactical first-person shooter which can involve teams of up to five individuals or characters. It has become one of the most popular “competition” games across the globe.
The YEP is a collaboration between Mineski Philippines and the Philippine Collegiate Champions League (PCCL) to develop future e-sports talent in the country by involving universities and other educational institutions in organized and sanctioned e-games tournaments.
One of the PCCL’s goals is to establish a coalition of student e-sports orgs in campuses across the country as accredited YEP chapters, and support student e-sports initiatives through career opportunities, event support, e-sports skills development and more.
According to the PCCL, the YEP “promotes e-sports as a healthy, responsible, and legitimate extra-curricular activity for the country’s youth.”
Through this partnership with Riot Games Southeast Asia, students that are part of the Youth E-sports Program will gain access to Riot’s speakers through workshops and career talks, participation in activities organized by the publisher, and other support for student initiatives. Among these initiatives include weekly Legend of Runeterra tournaments for YEP chapter orgs, Valorant content contests, and more.
“The Philippines has always been one of our most important markets and we have been consistently blown away by the passion and talent discovered within the community here. We are excited to partner with the Youth E-sports Program and to support their efforts in nurturing the next generation of e-sports and game industry professionals,” said Chris Tran, head of e-sports for Riot Games Southeast Asia, Taiwan, Hong Kong, and Macau.
YEP director Marlon Marcelo added that “we’re very happy and excited to have Riot Games be part of the program. We are aligned on our objective of raising the level of e-sports to the level of other varsity sports in schools. Together, we hope to create the infrastructure needed for students to responsibly pursue their passions in the exciting industry of e-sports and gaming. The Philippines’ best professional teams of the future will come from the current youth.”
Schools and student organizations interested in partnering with the YEP may send an email at yep@mineski.net or message them on their Facebook page.
