PLDT Inc. and Smart Communications rev up their eSports program with the introduction of their official professional gaming team called Omega.
Formed in partnership with Sterling Global Dragons, Omega will represent PLDT and Smart in the upcoming The Nationals, the first franchise-based eSports league in the Philippines.
Kicking off on march 17, The Nationals will pit official eSports teams of the league’s six co-founding members against each other. Aside from PLDT, the co-founders with entry teams are BrenPro Inc., Cignal TV Inc., Execration, HappyFeet Esports, and STI Education Systems. The teams will battle it out in top competitive games, including the official Southeast Asian (SEA) Games-sanctioned titles such as DoTA 2, Mobile Legends: Bang Bang, and Tekken 7.
Omega consists of high-ranking players Julius Cesar Sto Domingo (in-game name: Julz); Jonas Samonte (Nasjo); Jaysie Garan (Yaj); Jinn Marrey Lamatao (Palos); and Pedro de Paula (Efking). Coaching the team is Josef Brazal (JL`). They represent the organization that bagged the DoTA 2 championship at the recent Road to the Nationals nationwide tournament. The team has already made it to prestigious international tournaments such as The Kuala Lumpur Major SEA Qualifier and The International 2018 SEA Regional Qualifier, among others.
For Mobile Legends, Omega has Jules Carmann Marcelo (Lex); Rico J. Esto (Levi); Karl Nepomuceno (Karl); Steve Dale Vitug (Dale); and EJ Esperanza (Boo). Together, they clinched the MLMEMES championship title. the group also placed in various tournaments including Mobile Legends Professional League Season 2 (1st runner-up) and Mobile Esports Arena (1st runner-up), among others.
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Meanwhile, 23-year old Juliano Lozano (Jules) will represent Omega for the console game Tekken 7. Lozano is regarded as the Philippines’ best player for Tekken 7’s characters Jin and Bob. He recently ranked third among Tekken 7 players in the country. His brother Dannel Lozano (Pica) will coach him for the upcoming tournament.
This is not the first time PLDT and Smart dabbled into gaming. In 2016, they backed ESL One, the first ever major international eSports competition in the Philippines. Both PLDT and Smart also helped put together Manila Masters, the country’s biggest international esports tournament in 2017. Since 2013, PLDT and Smart have also been staunch supporters of the Esports and Gaming Summit (ESGS).
Follow the journey of Omega and the rest of the professional eSports teams in the upcoming “The Nationals” via the official Facebook accounts of PLDT Home and Smart, and their official Twitter and Instagram accounts (@PLDTHome) and (@LiveSmart). Catch The Nationals live on EGG Channel on Cignal TV and ESPN5 Plus starting March 17.
