MANILA, 27 November – The Philippines is making esports history again as the host country of the prestigious Honor of Kings Invitational S3. The historic tournament will commence in February to March 2025 to bring together international esports talents and players from over 15 countries. Along with the prestige of being selected as the host country of the Honor of Kings Invitational S3, the Philippines will be awarded an additional slot for their national representatives – making it a total of three allocations for the nation to compete in the S3 Invitational. This also marks the first time a significant Level Infinite offline tournament has been held in the Philippines.
Indonesia and Malaysia will each have two slots, while America, Europe, the Middle East, North Africa, Japan, and South Korea will each be allocated one from their respective qualifiers. Finally, there will be one Wildcard slot from the S3 Wildcard Qualifier that will be held online from December 4 to 22, 2024.
The selection of the Philippines as the host country signifies the nation’s rising potential as an esports destination and hub. It comes hot on the heels of another significant win for the nation, as Honor of Kings also announced last week that the Philippines will have its own national league in 2025.
Angelica Neri, Senior Esports Manager of Level Infinite, stated, “The Philippines wields immense potential in esports and has an extensive repertoire of hosting many international events. Filipino teams Blacklist International and BOOM Esports have also shown incredible prowess by making it to the last 2024 Honor of Kings Championship Playoffs. They have demonstrated great prowess, and we are confident in their knowledge and ability in HOK to do well in the upcoming S3 Invitational.
For the upcoming 2025 S3 Invitational, the competition is set to heat up with the implementation of the global ban pick, as this marks the first time it will be adapted outside of Honor of Kings China. The new ruling will bring more exciting matches to the pro scene as you can’t select heroes from the previous games, which amps up the competition level as it requires players to thoroughly study the advantages and weaknesses of each character.”
