PLDT-Smart’s first esports team swept the best-of-five finals at The Nationals Conference 1
 
PLDT-Smart Omega, champions of The Nationals’ Mobile Legends Bang Bang Conference 1, recently paid a courtesy visit to PLDT chairman and CEO Manny V. Pangilinan at the PLDT Headquarters in Makati. 

PLDT-Smart Omega members Dexter “Exort” Martinez, Adrian “Toshi” Bacallo, EJ “Heath” Esperanza, Anthony Dennis “Ynot” Senedrin, Kenneth “Kenji” Villa, 21, Paul “Kingpin” Rabandaban, and Jay “Crypzu” Villanueva—some of the best Mobile Legends: Bang Bang players in the country—were met warmly by Pangilinan and PLDT-Smart executives including PLDT Group Chief Revenue Officer and Smart Communications President Al S. Panlilio, PLDT SVP and Head of Consumer Business-Home Group Butch G. Jimenez Jr., and PLDT SVP and Head of Consumer Business-Individual Group Oscar Enrico A. Reyes, Jr. during the visit following their historic victory at The Nationals.

“We are very proud of our PLDT-Smart Omega team for making history as the very first conference champions at the Nationals,” said Oscar A. Reyes, Jr., PLDT-Smart SVP and Consumer Market Development Head. 

“They have worked tirelessly and given their maximum effort toward this momentous achievement, and we couldn’t be any happier to support them.”

The team, formed earlier this year to represent the country’s biggest telcos in the Nationals in partnership with professional esports management firm Sterling Global Dragons, won a whopping P500,000 cash prize, beating Cignal in the finals of the Philippines’ first franchise-based esports league.

The best-of-five finals series saw PLDT-Smart Omega demolish the Cignal Ultra Warriors in a clean three-game sweep. Omega sealed their victory early in the third game after their seamless coordination and teamwork resulted in Lord being unleashed at around the 11-minute mark, leaving Cignal powerless to stop the massive onslaught in their base. 

PLDT-Smart Omega will defend their championship against the rest of the field when they all return for Conference 2 of The Nationals: Mobile Legends: Bang Bang in November. Omega also fields representatives for other official Nationals-sanctioned games DOTA 2 and Tekken 7.

PLDT and Smart, as the Philippines’ telecommunications and digital services leaders, are highly valuable supporters of the highly competitive local esports scene, backing both world-class international and local esports competitions and conventions since 2013. The telcos helped put up ESL One, the first ever major international esports competition in the Philippines which saw top DOTA 2 teams from across the world do battle in Manila.

PLDT and Smart also provide Filipino gamers with the best gaming experience powered by the fastest fixed and mobile networks in the country, with their reliable and consistent connections being certified by global leaders in internet testing and analysis Ookla, Tutela, P3, and OpenSignal.

Get the latest e-sports updates by following the official Facebook account of PLDT-Smart Omega and the official Twitter and Instagram accounts of PLDT and Smart at @PLDTHome and @LiveSmart.