The best amateurs in the league
The inaugural season of the Globe Philippine Pro Gaming League 2018 concluded with a grand LAN event at Glorietta, Makati earlier this year. The best teams and players from the three different games gathered together to crown the first kings of the nation’s biggest multi-platform esports league.
The grand finals featured a mix of both seasoned gaming veterans and eager newcomers. This ensures that the search for the next big esports stars simply did not revolve around the players who have long stood on the competitive stage, but rather including those who have only taken their first step in esports.
It’s time to take a look at the recently concluded Globe PPGL 2018 and recognize the best amateur teams that have risen to the challenge of becoming the next set of professional players.
Shaking the Dota 2 Foundation
The top four teams of the Dota 2 leg of the league featured mostly brand new teams with the exception of the long-standing HappyFeet squad. New teams may have made their way to the top 4 of the league, but they were manned by some well known players in the country such as TaskUs Titans‘ Jay “raging-_-potato” Qui, DeToNator‘s Julius “Julz” De Leon, and HF’s Jessie Cristy “JessieVash” Cuyco.
The team that stood out the most was the relatively newly formed Quid Pro Quo. Their roster featured three newcomers to the scene as well as two Mineski Pro Gaming League veterans. Their energetic and oftentimes unorthodox play style allowed them to claim a strong silver place finish right behind the eventual champions, TaskUs Titans.
From Zero Sponsors to AOV Heroes
BREN Esports took the league by storm as they continuously plowed through their opponents with almost a clean record. The AOV team was racking up clean sweep records against any team that stood in their way. Their Globe PPGL 2018 journey eventually came to an end after falling to second place in a gripping grand finals series which closed with a 1-3 victory in favor of Clutch Guild.
BREN Esports may have been a dominant force for most of the league, performing on par with established esports organizers, but they were virtual amateurs that received a boost midway through the qualifiers.
Sponsorless eventually ended up winning the qualifiers undefeated. I clearly remember that Morayta event when the other teams went home and we were waiting for the LAN schedule. We were a little nervous because our funds were dwindling. That’s when BREN Esports first approached us. They really are the team’s life savers because they handled everything we needed, Ralph Andrei “Leathergoods” Llabres, BREN Esports’ Team Captain, said.
Originally, Sponsorless, was a team without backing from any organization and almost had to drop out of the league due to lack of funds. They were scouted and sponsored by BREN Esports almost immediately. They may be a professional team right now, but they started out in the league as one of the strongest amateur teams filled with players that dreamed of making it big.
With an Iron Fist
The top eight Tekken 7 players in the Globe PPGL 2018 featured the toughest veteran players from around the Philippines. However, the absence of amateur Tekken 7 fighters in the grand finals does not mean that they were absent for the entirety of the league.
“I definitely think that the Globe PPGL 2018 helped the Tekken 7. It doesn’t stop at the amateurs but extends the community as a whole. The recent national league was one of the best exposures the PH Tekken community has ever had.” Ron “Hot-E” Muyot, Playbook Esports’ Head of Tournaments, said.
Globe PPGL 2018 Tekken 7 League Ops, Ron “Hot-E” Muyot, stated how beneficial it was for the entirety of the Tekken 7 community that a national league scoured the different parts of the country to find the absolute best players that the Philippines has to offer.
The first season of Globe PPGL 2018 served as the perfect opportunity for amateur players and teams to test their mettle and pursue their dreams. We have already witnessed many rising stars in PH esports, and it is only the end of the first season. Expect to meet more new faces in esports as the next seasons of the Globe Philippine Pro Gaming League take place.
