Mobile Legends: Bang Bang (MLBB) player Jonmar “OhMyV33nus” Villaluna started playing as a kid.
“Since I was a child, my dream has always been as simple as playing for a team,” OhMyV33nus shared, recalling that growing up on PC games, with a particular interest in MMORPG and MOBA, she decided early to become a part of the local esports community. But if, before, “I just used to watch a lot of League of Legends international tournaments… watching their struggles and winning moments motivated me to become who I am today and inspired me long before esports became popular in the Philippines.”
Esports has, of course, become a significant part of the culture of today’s Filipino youth, with games spanning generations like Counter-Strike and Defense of the Ancient (DotA) and today’s variety of locally-popular games like League of Legends (LoL), MLBB, and Valorant.
And more recently, homegrown athletes started to dominate their respective esports leagues. Among such athletes is OhMyV33nus who, while playing for Blacklist International, went against all odds to become one of the most successful LGBTQIA Filipino esports players today.
But OhMyV33nus is first to admit that it has not been an easy journey; she had her own share of struggles and heartbreaks as she was a product of a decade of wins and losses. It was, in fact, only after winning the MLBB M3 World Championships as the mid laner of her team that OhMyV33nus was finally considered an international esports champion.
OhMyV33nus takes her success seriously, knowing how it can also inspire a new generation of Filipino gamers — particularly those who are members of the LGBTQIA community.
And so she now says to all aspiring LGBTQIA esports players: “Becoming a professional esports athlete requires intense physical and mental preparations and this sport transcends all those defining factors that we normally see in other sports — height, race, social status, and sexuality is irrelevant in this field. Don’t let anyone look down on you just because of your gender or sexuality.”
Home Credit Philippines – the official partner of SIBOL, the Philippines’ national esports team to the 2022 SEA Games – hopes to inspire more Filipino youth to take this first step towards realizing their esports dreams. The company is offering monthly installments and a range of brands to choose from like Samsung, vivo, realme, OPPO, Huawei, and ASUS. Learn the latest updates from Home Credit Philippines by visiting their official website homecredit.ph. You may also follow them on their official Facebook, Instagram, and TikTok accounts.
