CODM Summer Fest 2026 draws huge Philippine crowd, unveils esports plans

CODM Summer Fest 2026 turned SMX Aura Convention Center in BGC, Taguig into a loud, crowded proof point for Philippine Call of Duty: Mobile. Garena billed the two-day event as the country’s biggest in-person CODM gathering, and the turnout matched that claim with creator appearances, meet-and-greets, cosplay, booths, clan activations, and back-to-back championship matches all packed into one venue.

The weekend’s draw went well beyond the finals stage. Myrtle Sarrosa, Sharlene San Pedro, Doc Z Gaming, Tokyo, Patsy, Khenji, and Izzy Canillo helped pull the community floor into the center of the show, while Garena leaned on the festival theme, “Connect, Compete, Celebrate,” to frame the event as both a fan meetup and a serious esports statement. The company also said the Summer Fest was the first offline regional Call of Duty: Mobile tournament hosted in the Philippines, a notable marker for a scene that has moved from online grind to full-scale live-event presence.

That growth was built up over the spring through nationwide “Hotspot Attacks” activations on April 25, May 2, and May 9, which helped set the stage for the final weekend. Garena also said the CODM Creator Launchpad has supported more than 200 creators over five years, another sign that the local ecosystem is producing not just players, but a wider content and community network around the game.

Competition backed up the crowd energy. Garena Elite Philippines carried a combined prize pool of $40,000 and made history as the first Philippine LAN event to feature both Multiplayer and Battle Royale on one stage. Open qualifiers ran from April 14 to 16, drawing 394 Battle Royale teams and 128 Multiplayer teams before the field was cut down to the finalists. Team Skaeri beat MG Oblivion 3-1 in the Multiplayer grand final, while Leap Unbound took the Battle Royale title with 108 points. Rigid TSG finished second on 98, Team 4Kings placed third on 79, and GNR Esports Legacy came fourth on 74.

The second headline bracket, Garena Summer Invitational 2026, brought together teams from the Philippines, Singapore, Malaysia, Thailand, Indonesia, Taiwan, Hong Kong, and Macau for a $60,000 prize pool. Team Elevate completed a hard-fought 4-3 win over Alula Club in the grand final after falling to Alula in the upper bracket final and then knocking out Team Star Magic in the lower final. Johnkelly “Yop1” Manalang earned Finals MVP honors after a 17/8/4 KDA in the deciding game. With top-two GSI finishers advancing directly to the 2026 Garena Qualifier for CODM World Championship Stage 4, the Philippines did not just host the scene’s biggest live weekend. It looked like a region building real weight on the road to the world stage.