Omega Esports finally got its United States visa approved, making it available for the Call of Duty: Mobile World Championship from 15 to 18 December in North Carolina.
The visa application of the Smart-backed Esports team got a major boost when several lawmakers, headed by Majority Leader Rep. Luis Raymund Villafuerte Jr., made the endorsement.
Smart Omega chief executive officer Epok Quimpo thanked the lawmakers for rallying behind the team that is composed of Kennedy “iDra” Mondoy, Kenneth “KenDy” Pimentel, Jerrold “Woopiiee” Regay, Ronan “Rage” Eleria and Jonnel “R1sky” Buemio.
“It is both humbling and overwhelming when you get support from government officials who understand the potential in the growing Esports scene in the Philippines,” Quimpo said.
“With the recent success of Smart Omega in various professional Esports leagues, we continue to strive and somehow be able to be an example for those striving to venture into the Esports scene in the country.”
The CODM Championship 2022 is such a crucial tourney as it is touted as the grandest stage of competitive CODM with a prize pool of $1.7 million — or roughly P94 million.
It features 16 of the world’s best CODM squads, including ALMIGHTY, Wolves, Qing Jiu Club, GodLike, Team Vitality, iNCO Gaming, SKADE, INFLUENCE CHEMIN, SCARZ, STMN Esports, Nova Esports, STRUT esports, Tribe Gaming, Luminosity, NYSL Mayhem and Omega Esports — the country’s lone representative.
Aside from the overwhelming support in processing the squad’s visa application, Villafuerte and Rep. Tyuyoshi Anthony Horibata of Camarines Sur also upgraded the team’s phone to an Asus ROG 6, which is the required gadget of tournament organizers.
Last week, the House of Representative also recognized them in a session at the Batasang Pambansa, proving that the entire country is rallying behind them.
For Woopiiee, the overwhelming support would not go to waste as they plan to give everything they got in the prestigious tournament.
“We are excited to represent the Philippines in the world and we are grateful to everyone who made this stint possible, especially from government officials who helped our team secure our visas. We will do our best to prove that Filipinos are one of the best CODM players in the world,” he said.
