SMM Philippines launches SMM Gamers, hints at bigger things to come in November

SMM Philippines presented gamers with SMM Gamers at the SMM Cyberslam event over the weekend, granting the Philippine audience a new cyberspace hangout.

Cyberslam attendees were able to register and create new accounts for SMM Gamers, which can be used from here on to access a video archive, match schedules, match results for ongoing leagues and tournament, as well as a live ticker for global streams. SMM Gamers is presently only targeting the Philippine audience, though players from other Asian countries are welcome, and even encouraged, to join.

One of the more notable features of SMM Gamers is a team ranking feature where visitors can view the top ten Philippine teams. The ranking is currently based on tournaments and events taking place within the Philippines starting from January this year. This is helpful for fans to keep track of which Philippine teams are doing well, and is also a way to discover which new teams are making their way to the top. At the moment, the team rankings are only for Dota 2 teams, but SMM is also looking to make one for other games such as Warcraft III (WC3) Dota, Starcraft II, and Hearthstone.

(See: eSports are in, and why mobile will not replace PC gaming (Casual Connect Asia 2014) (UPDATED))

In the future, SMM Gamers will include SMM Play, where players can make and compare predictions for competitive matches. The SMM Play tab is currently blank, but there is a “betting room” subheader, which could be hinting at placing bets on matches either in the form of points, in-game items or even money. The full details of SMM Play are still unconfirmed, but Dota 2 fans may find the concept of it familiar. SMM Play seems similar to the prediction feature of The International Compendium, where correct predictions will earn you points, rewards, and bragging rights. Dota 2 eSports fans may also be familiar with betting on matches on sites such as Dota 2 Lounge.

According SMM CEO and founder Dato Dr. Ricky Lim, the Philippines has a lot of potential to be recognized in the world of eSports. However, smaller players in the industry like cybercafes need to be organized and networked. Lim also mentioned that SMM Cyberslam was only the beginning for the Philippines.

SMM is looking at holding a bigger event towards the fourth quarter of 2014, possibly in November. SMM Cyberslam could also potentially become an annual event. There are no further details to confirm anything, but we’ll definitely keep you posted on what happens, so remember to follow us on Facebook and Twitter for more updates.

You can create your own SMM Gamers account here.

Other important announcements at SMM Cyberslam: