A FORM of entertainment to many, and a form of livelihood to a select few at the highest level, esports has been making waves internationally and is now starting to grow roots locally.
In February 2022, the course of esports in Cebu changed forever.
The Cebu Schools Athletic Foundation Inc. (Cesafi) proposed the idea of the Cesafi Esports League (CEL), an avenue that would allow the showcase of the skills and talents of Cebuano esports at the collegiate level. In April of the same year, the building blocks of today’s CEL was established. Headed by Ryan Balbuena and a team of skilled college volunteers, CEL went online for the first time.
Since then CEL has grown, not only in numbers but in skills as well, mastering different techniques in production and graphics design, casters slowly developing their unique style and sound, and a lot more growth behind the scenes, overall upping the quality of output.
This growth allowed the organization to hold a live event at SM Seaside City Cebu to crown the inaugural champions of CEL Mobile Legends: BANG BANG division in the form of the University of Cebu Lapu-Lapu and Mandaue Webmasters.
With season two around the corner, the staff has been working non-stop to improve further and showcase Cebu’s collegiate esports scene with much more quality. With the game Valorant coming in as an addition to CEL’s second season, more talent and skills of Cebu’s collegiate esports scene will be revealed to the world. But it does not just stop there. CEL does not only want to focus on the competitive side of esports, moving forward, the organization also wants to provide an avenue for content creators in the form of streamers and cosplayers. This desire to branch out of the competitive esports into its entertainment side has been evident, as CEL presented its viewers with a show match between Cebuano streamers, and the first collegiate cosplay competition in Cebu last April 22-23, 2023, alongside the previously mentioned crowning of its inaugural champions.
CEL is an organization that started with the goal of enhancing the skills and passion of Cebu’s esports, be it as players or as those who work behind the scenes. CEL’s new aim is to show the world the beauty of collegiate esports in Cebu. (Howard Humphrey Versales)