AcadArena | About

Our Mission

Making esports a part of student life.

AcadArena is a national campus esports program in the Philippines focused on three pillars: competition, education &experience.

We're here to elevate esports in schools across the country, empower student-enthusiasts, and prepare them for a career in any industry.

Power in Numbers

AcadArena has and always will be built for students-first. We're proud to have brought opportunities to thousands of enthusiasts, leaders and competitors in universities across the country.

2,500+

Students who participated in our tournaments

250+

Schools engaged with our programs

12,500+

Total attendees to our events

Our Journey

We've come a long way. Here are some of our most important moments with you.

December 2018: We sent students from the University of Santo Tomas and University of the Philippines to compete in IEF Jeju.

December 2018: We hosted StreamCraft Campus Rivals, a showmatch series between Ateneo de Manila and UP - Diliman.

June 2019: We hosted the finals of the first AcadArena split at CONQuest 2019, the largest con in the Visayas. Over 7500 attended.

August 2019: We worked with Bren Esports, Secret 6 and Rumble Royale to host a series of talks at the University of San Agustin.

December 2019: We sent the Dota 2 squad from Our Lady of Fatima University to China for the World University Cyber Games.

December 2019: We collaborated with the Far Eastern University - IT to host Nexus, a convention inside their school campus!

February 2020: We teamed up with Liyab Esports to host BOOSTCAMP, a workshop for League of Legends fans.

Our Pillars

At AcadArena, we're all about showing that esports is #NotAllPlay. Through our different educational, experiential and competitive programs, we offer all types of students ways to learn, grow and enjoy.

Education

Education is the soul of AcadArena. Through our different online and offline programs, we help students become better leaders and professionals regardless of what career path they choose.

Experience

Gaming is fun, but it's even better when you have others with you. We help student-leaders build communities that will last for years. We foster inclusive environments through summer camps, conventions and expos.

Competition

Who doesn't love duking it out with their friends? Whether it's weekly open tournaments for fun or a national league for thousands in scholarships, AcadArena hosts event for student-gamers of every type.

Our Team

We're collective of industry veterans passionate about bring campus esports to the next level.

Ariane Lim

Co-Founder & Director

Ariane pioneered campus esports in the Philippines as the head of Garena's local student-gaming initiative from 2016 - 2018. Her expertise in program development has led her to work for brands such as NetEase and Huya.

Justin Banusing

Co-Founder & Business/Expos Lead

Justin is a start-up swiss army knife. On top of managing AcadArena's business and expo affairs, he is a project manager for Pipeline, an esports ops manager for the University of Washington and an editor for INQUIRER.net.

David Viray

Competition Lead

David is a competitor in the purest sense of the word, being a former player in the Pro Gaming Series and a winner of the LoL Collegiate League. Now, he works to create competitive opportunities for students of all kinds.

The Alliance

While we work with dozens of schools across the archipelago, Alliance schools are model examples of and gethands-on supports and guidance from our team. Here are some our pioneer members.