Philippine Honor of Kings Pro League to launch in April

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March 5, 2025 | 4:37pm

MANILA, Philippines — The country's hosting of the Honor of Kings (HOK) Invitational Season 3 was just the beginning for Filipino fans as the Philippines' King League (PKL) is set to begin next month.

Game developer Level Infinite officially launched the PKL during the grand finals of the invitational last March 1, with the league featuring two major tournaments this year: the Spring edition in April and the Fall edition in August. 

Both tournaments will give Filipino teams a chance to qualify for HOK international tournaments like the Esports World Cup in July and the Honor of Kings International Championship (KIC) in November.

With Blacklist International and Elevate missing out on the Honor of Kings Invitational Season 3 trophy, the arrival of a local league, according to Level Infinite's senior esports manager Angelica Neri, will only strengthen the country's developing HOK esports scene.

"Mas tatas lang yung level of competition. Kasi nakakaroon na tayo ng slow steps for sustainability and consistency for esports ng HOK. So, I think that one will slowly rise as we get to the different levels. The grassroots, the campuses, the semi-pros, and then you have the pro levels. So, it will open up new opportunities for new teams to rise again,” Neri told Philstar.com.

In the coming Spring PKL, eight teams will compete for the EWC qualification with five partner teams already announced, namely: Blacklist International, Boom Esports, Eureka, Team Flash PH and TNT Tropang Alab. The remaining three teams will be determined through the Open qualifiers.

With the continued rise of HOK in the country, it is only a matter of time before a Filipino team will lift an international trophy.

"HOK is fairly new in the Philippines. We are less than a year, but as of the moment, even though we haven't gotten a chance to qualify for the finals [during the Invitational], we're still very proud of the teams that we have. Mainly because they've shown that with that short of a time to actually learn the game and strategize, they were still able to make it to the semifinals," said Benj Dalmacio, Senior Business Development Manager at Level Infinite.

Registration for the PKL open qualifiers is ongoing.