As a huge step in enabling Filipinos to pursue their passion in mobile gaming, Smart Communications, Inc. (Smart) has launched GIGA Arena, the country’s first all-in-one esports platform that aims to simply bring the total esports experience at the fingertips of Filipino mobile gamers.
Open to all Smart and TNT customers, GIGA Arena lets users match up with fellow players to compete in daily, weekly, and monthly tournaments on gigaarena.smart for prestige and cash prizes. Registration starts on March 9.
For its launch, GIGA Arena features four most popular mobile games in the country, such as Mobile Legends: Bang Bang, League of Legends: Wild Rift, Call of Duty Mobile (CODM), and PlayerUnknown’s Battlegrounds Mobile (PUBGM).
Aside from enabling users to compete in live tournaments, the all-in-one platform also comes with innovative features that allow mobile gamers to set-up tournaments, stream live competitions, play arcade games, purchase e-load, and conveniently link their e-wallet to secure their tournament winnings via GigaPay with PayMaya, among others.
To power the platform, Smart has partnered with global esports company LEET Entertainment. Smart also marks its five years of partnership with mobile game developer Moonton as it includes Mobile Legends: Bang Bang among its featured mobile games.
Training ground to greatness
Envisioned as a training ground for greatness, GIGA Arena comes amid the rise in the number of Filipino mobile gamers who want to level up their skills and enhance their gameplay.
“Through GIGA Arena, we are giving mobile gamers a venue to showcase their skills and talents, which many of them devote time and effort to hone. This is aligned with our commitment to enable our subscribers to pursue their passions and live the Giga Life,” said Jane J. Basas, SVP and Head of Consumer Wireless Business at Smart.
“We have designed GIGA Arena to be as dynamic as the esports scene, so our subscribers can expect more innovative features aimed at delivering the best mobile gaming experience,” she added.
To access GIGA Arena, subscribers can go to gigaarena.smart and create an account using their Smart or TNT mobile number. To join ongoing tournaments, users need to use ‘tickets,’ which they can earn and accumulate every time they register to GIGA Games data packs.
Enhanced GIGA Games
In time for the launch of GIGA Arena, Smart has also announced the enhanced GIGA Games, which now includes data for PUBGM, on top of Mobile Legends and Facebook Gaming.
Smart and TNT subscribers can conveniently register to GIGA Games via the GigaLife App, which is available on the Apple App Store, Google Play Store, and Huawei Mobile Services. Customers may also avail of GIGA Games by dialing *123#.
Patron of esports in PH
Giga Arena is the latest in Smart’s efforts to provide the best mobile gaming experience to Filipinos through innovative services, strategic partnerships with leading game creators and tournament organizers, and network improvements and rollouts across the country.
Among leagues Smart has supported over the years are: The Nationals, the country’s first franchise-based esports league; all-female esports league Liga Adarna; and Mobile Legends: Bang Bang Pro League tournaments, along with many other esports programs and tournaments from the grassroots to the pro levels.
Smart has also been a big supporter of Sibol, the Philippine national esports team, its own PLDT-Smart Omega esports team, and many other esports players and mobile gaming content creators. Smart is also a founding and active member of the Philippine Esports Organization (PESO), the country’s National Sports Association for E-Sports.
Philippines’ fastest 5G mobile network
GIGA Arena is powered by Smart, the fastest 5G network in the Philippines as reported by Ookla®, the global leader in mobile and broadband intelligence.
Ookla recently declared Smart as the country’s fastest 5G mobile network and the winner of its Speedtest Awards for Q3-Q4 2021 with a Speed Score of 201.95, while its closest competitor posted a Speed Score of 116.08.
To bag this award, Smart posted a median download speed of 218.82 Mbps and a median upload speed of 22.46 Mbps, while its closest competitor posted a median download speed of 116.92 Mbps and a median upload speed of 10.81 Mbps.