Cesafi Esports League: Strong push to make women’s division permanent

CEBU CITY, Philippines — Strong community demand and overwhelmingly positive feedback are pushing the Cebu Schools Athletic Foundation, Inc. (Cesafi) Esports League (CEL) to consider making the women’s division a permanent fixture in its growing tournament lineup.

Ryan Abarquez Balbuena, CEL tournament director since its launch in 2022, said the league had been receiving consistent requests from Cebu’s expanding esports community to formally include a women’s division in future seasons.

READ: Cesafi Esports League women’s division becomes permanent

The call gained traction after the league introduced the category as a demo event during its maiden season, featuring competitions in Mobile Legends: Bang Bang and Valorant.

Balbuena noted that Cebu had become a key hub for competitive gaming in the country, highlighted by the rise of top female talent, including members of the all-Cebuana squad formerly known as Smart Omega Empress, now competing under NAVI Omega Empress.

“Even before the introduction of the women’s division in CEL, many students from Cesafi-affiliated schools had already been requesting it,” Balbuena said.

READ: Cesafi Esports League: Women’s division to debut in 2026

“We regularly received messages expressing their desire to have a dedicated women’s category, especially given the growing number of talented female esports athletes in Cebu, many of whom have already competed on the international stage,” he said.

He added that the response to the demo matches staged during CEL Season 4 at SM Seaside City Cebu further strengthened the case for its inclusion as a regular event.

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“During the CEL Season 4 Opening and Championship, we featured women’s demo matches, which received an overwhelmingly positive response. These matches drew strong online viewership and also encouraged many students to watch live and support the players onsite,” he said.

Balbuena stressed that the reception from both online audiences and on-ground spectators played a key role in the league’s decision-making process.

READ: Cesafi Esports: UC Main Webmasters rules Valorant

“The primary reason behind the inclusion of the CEL Women’s Division in the regular season next year is the remarkable success of these demo matches. The enthusiasm shown by the community, both online and onsite, demonstrated that there is genuine demand and strong support for women’s esports within the Cesafi community,” he added.

The Valorant women’s division featured teams from the University of San Carlos (USC) Lady Warriors, Cebu Doctors’ University (CDU) Lady Stallions, University of San Jose–Recoletos (USJ-R) Lady Jaguars, and University of Cebu (UC) Main Lady Webmasters.

Meanwhile, the Mobile Legends: Bang Bang women’s bracket included UC Main, USJ-R, University of the Philippines Cebu (UP Cebu), Cebu Institute of Technology–University (CIT-U), University of Cebu Lapu-Lapu and Mandaue (UCLM), Benedicto College (BC), and Cebu Eastern College (CEC).

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