Smart Communications, Inc (Smart) and Mobile Legends: Bang Bang developer, MOONTON Games strengthen their ties as they team up once again for Season 8 of Mobile Legends: Bang Bang Professional League Philippines (MPL-PH), the country’s largest mobile esports league starting on Aug. 27.
As the official telco partner of the MPL-PH Season 8, Smart will enable fans to watch the action-packed MPL-PH Season 8 matches on Smart’s Facebook page. Fans can also expect exciting promos, skin giveaways, exclusive updates, and freebies.
Eight teams are set to duke it out in a round-robin format for a shot at the championship. These teams include Blacklist International, Bren Esports, Onic PH, RSG PH, Echo Philippines (Formerly Aura PH), Nexplay Evos (Formerly Nexplay Esports), TNC Pro Team (Formerly Work Auster Force), and Smart Omega.
Prior to MPL-PH Season 8, Smart and MOONTON Games teamed up for the Mobile Legends: Bang Bang Southeast Asia Cup (MSC) in June, where two Filipino teams – Execration and Blacklist International – rose to the top with the former bagging the championship, edging out 10 of the best teams from Cambodia, Indonesia, Laos, Malaysia, Singapore, Thailand, and Vietnam.
Smart and MOONTON Games have also partnered for the previous MPL-PH seasons and made strategic collaborations to delight mobile gamers and fans since half a decade ago, betting on a bright future for mobile games and esports.
Country’s biggest esports supporter
“We are very happy to partner with MOONTON once again for another exciting season of MPL-PH. We go as far back as 2016 and together, we’ve seen the tremendous growth of Mobile Legends and esports in our country, turning from just a hobby to a legitimate sports whose viewership and fandom now compare to big sports events like basketball and volleyball. We have also witnessed how Filipino esports athletes developed and made their mark not just here but also in the international arena,” said Lloyd Manaloto, FVP/Group Head, Corporate Marketing & Strategy at Smart.
“As we strengthen our partnership, you can rely on Smart to continue providing a platform that enables gamers and esports fans to pursue their passions and chase their dreams – powered by the country’s fastest mobile data network as well as the fastest and most reliable 5G network,” he added.
Over the past few years, Smart has proven its strong commitment and support to the Philippine esports community by partnering with game creators and esports tournament organizers here and abroad, delighting subscribers with exclusive offers, and actively playing a role in the Philippine Esports Organization (PESO), the official National Sports Association that governs and develops esports for the over 43 million gamers in the country.
Earlier this year, Smart launched its Double GIGA Games promo, which gives Smart and TNT subscribers 2 GB of data every day for seven days to access their favorite mobile games like Mobile Legends: Bang Bang, plus 2 GB of open-access data for only P99.
Smart subscribers can register to Double GIGA Games via the GigaLife App, which is downloadable on the Apple App Store, Google Play Store, and Huawei Mobile Services. Subscribers can also avail of the offer by dialing *123# and choosing DOUBLE GIGA.
Philippines’ fastest 5G network
Filipino gamers can enjoy the best mobile gaming experience on 5G devices powered by Smart, which was recently cited as the fastest 5G network in the Philippines by Ookla®, the global leader in internet testing and analysis.
Smart notched the top place in the country with a Speed ScoreTM of 204.81, posting median download and upload speeds of 220.66 Mbps and 20.61 Mbps, respectively based on 237,142 user-initiated 5G tests taken with Speedtest in the Philippines in the first half of 2021.
To date, Smart has fired up more than 4,000 5G sites in over 3,300 locations nationwide. making it the country’s first, fastest, and widest 5G network.
Smart has also reasserted its dominance as the Philippines’ fastest mobile network for the fourth year in a row, based on analysis by Ookla of tests taken with Speedtest® covering the first half of 2021.
On the other hand, Smart scored a rare sweep in the April 2021 Philippines Mobile Network Experience Awards by independent analytics firm Opensignal, beating the competition across all metrics in three essential aspects of service, including Coverage (4G Coverage Experience, 4G Availability), Speed (Download and Upload Speed) and Experience (Games, Video and Voice App).
