One of the highlights of the CEL championships at the IEC last year. | CEL photo
CEBU CITY, Philippines— The third season of the Cebu Schools Athletic Foundation, Inc. Esports League (CEL) is officially set to begin this February.
Tournament director and CESAFI official Ryan Abarquez Balbuena confirmed the start date, noting that the league is targeting the second week of February for its opening.
The prime venue under consideration is SM Seaside City Cebu, following the success of last year’s massive CEL pre-season event held at the same location.
However, Balbuena clarified that the final venue and schedule are still subject to change, as he and other tournament officials plan to meet and finalize the details.
Since its debut in 2023, the CEL has quickly become one of the fastest-growing events among the 13 sporting disciplines under CESAFI. The league has gained massive popularity among Cebu’s gamers, with its unique appeal continuing to grow.
Unlike other CESAFI sports events, CEL is the only one to include a pre-season tournament. This is in contrast to the basketball tournament, which previously featured a pre-season event before it was halted due to the global COVID-19 pandemic.
The CEL currently features two of the most popular esports titles—Mobile Legends: Bang Bang (MLBB) and Valorant.
For the upcoming third season, Balbuena stated that the league will retain the same tournament formats for both games.
An exciting addition this season is the debut of the Benedicto College Cheetahs, who will compete in both MLBB and Valorant.
During the pre-season tournament, which rivaled a regular season event in terms of scale and production, the University of San Jose-Recoletos (USJ-R) and the University of Cebu Lapu-Lapu and Mandaue (UCLM) emerged as champions in the MLBB and Valorant divisions, respectively.
Meanwhile, the defending champions of the regular season, crowned in November 2023 at the International Eucharistic Center (IEC) Convention Center, were the University of San Carlos (USC) Warriors and USJ-R.