Reminiscing on the time when League of Legends was at its peak.
Before Mobile Legends sat on the throne as the biggest multiplayer game in Southeast Asia, League of Legends was in its place. Nowhere was this appeal more apparent than in the massive events that they would hold, like Conqueror’s Manila back in 2019.
First, A Brief History
Conquerors Manila was the capstone event for the SEA region’s professional LoL league back when it was still known as the Garena Premier League. Not content with just making it an end-of-season finals event, it was merged together with the Philippines’ annual LoL fan event, Rampage, to make it one big LoL celebration for esports and casual fans alike.
While Conquerors Manila 2019 didn’t host the end of the GPL that year, they still strived to bring intense, high-level LoL action to its fans. They held the SEA Invitational, where four teams from Thailand, Malaysia, and the Philippines competed for a 1M PHP grand prize. When the dust settled, it was the Philippines’ Liyab Esports walking away as the million peso champions.
A Feast for the Fans
The SEA Invitational wasn’t the only fierce competition going on in Conquerors. The annual Cosplay Clash was also going down with solo and duo teams showing off their craftsmanship and creativity.
To make sure that the energy doesn’t go down, live performances from Gracenote, Sponge Cola, and even the Manila Symphony Orchestra played throughout the two day event.
If all that still wasn’t enough, there was also the fan favorite Celebrity Showmatch. Local and invited personalities such as Empoy, Suzzysaur, Ashley Gosiengfiao, and famous LoL streamer Cowsep butted heads for fans and even managed to raise 88,000 Php for the Hinelaban foundation.
Conqueror’s Manila 2019 truly was the pinnacle of LoL events in the Philippines. That’s why it’s also quite sad that it was the last major LoL event held in the Philippines as well.
There’s been many shifts in the esports world since 2019 but there are still many fans who remember those days. Maybe that’s why LoL developers Riot Games recently announced the Empyrean Cup along with its million peso prize pool. We can only hope that this will be enough to reignite the interest and passion of Filipino LoL fans.
Banner from @Kakuchopurei on Twitter.
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