manila, dec. 5 (xinhua) -- 30th southeast asian (sea) *s esports *nt kicked off here at manila's san juan arena on thursday.
this is the first time esports tournament was included in the sea *s as a regular *nt, as well as in a regional multi-sports meet worldwide.
six gold medals are at stake for the six-day tournament with the video *s of dota 2, starcraft ii, hearthstone, tekken 7, arena of valor, and mo*le legends: bang bang (mlbb).
in the opening day's competitions, malaysia held a draw with vietnam 1-1, laos lost to thailand 2-1 in the mlbb category. the hosts' caviar acampado beat jonathan wong of malaysia in the starcraft ii bout.
the hosts' team, coached by south korean im changrok whose on-line nickname is "* panda", will see action at the *nt with 27 filipino *s fighting for their country.
"we hope we can grab four golds out of the six," im told xinhua, adding that the filipino athletes are very proud of receiving the call up from their country.
kyle angelo, a filipino *r of mlbb, told xinhua that he and his teammates prepared for the sea *s for almost two months and they were very excited to participate in the regional sports meet as an athlete like those in the football or basketball *nt.
philippine olympic commi* (poc) president abraham tolentino was invited to the ceremonial opening of the *nt. in his speech, tolentino said esports are becoming * and * popular among people of all ages, that is the reason why 2019 sea *s includes the *nt in as a regular sport.
esports *nt was featured at the 2018 asian *s as a demonstration sport, meaning medals won in this sport would not be counted in the official overall medal tally.
"i see esports athletes from all around the region coming for the sea *s and they will dress the national uniforms to represent their country. let us 'win us one'," said kenneth fok, the president of asian esports federation.
__