The crowning of the Philippines’ best esports athletes
After more than two months of searching for the country’s best Arena of Valor, Tekken 7, and Dota 2 players, the Globe PPGL 2018 has finally came to its pinnacle. The atmosphere at the Glorietta 2 Activity Center in Makati was filled with competitive vibes for two days as the Philippines’ most promising esports athletes gathered for the fulfillment of their dreams and the lion’s share of the PHP 800,000 prize pool.
Aside from offering the Philippine esports experience, the organizers behind the Globe PPGL 2018 grand finals were also able to flex their ability to give the audience a redefined live viewing experience with innovative production.
In case you missed the action-packed weekend, here are the Globe PPGL 2018’s first-ever grand champions.
Arena of Valor
The final day of the two-day gauntlet started with the Philippines’ best Arena of Valor teams. Having clinched the grand finals slot in a dominating fashion, both Bren Esports and Clutch Guild faced each other in a heated best-of-five series.
Although Bren Esports was able to score the first blood, Clutch Guild was too much for them to handle as the young boys disguised as the best of friends proceeded to dismantle them from games two to four. Clutch Guild’s team captain, Ralph “CG.Black” Rollamas, also revealed that the secret to their victory was the whole team’s cooperation which was based on their real-life friendship
Despite having won PHP 100,000 and the Globe PPGL 2018 Arena of Valor championship title, CG.Black went for the humble route and insisted that what they have achieved is still not enough for them to be dubbed as the country’s best AoV team.
The journey for Clutch Guild doesn’t stop at the Globe PPGL 2018 as they hope to use their victory as a jumpstart to international Arena of Valor tournaments.
Tekken 7
Filipino Tekken players from all over the Philippines gathered for the Globe PPGL 2018 Tekken 7 grand finals. The hype generated by the matches was able to stop the whole Glorietta 2 Activity Center, but in the end, it just unwittingly became a host for the latest edition of Philippine Tekken’s El Clasico.
After falling short in the semifinals, Andreij “PBE|Doujin” Albar climbed from the lower bracket to face, once more, his local rival Alexandre “PBE|AK” Laverez in the grand finals. Being wary of his opponent’s twice-to-beat advantage, Doujin drew an ace from his sleeve with a surprise Paul pick against AK’s Shaheen.
This was the same grand finals match-up which was featured at the Brawlfest 2017 amidst the Electronic Sports Games Summit (ESGS) and it almost seemed like a déjà vu not just for the spectators but for Doujin as well after AK escaped with a 3-1 win.
Despite having faced Doujin in a grand final set-up time and time again, the child prodigy admitted that he still gets tense whenever he’s up against his local rival. AK went home with another grand championship title in the bag as well as the PHP 45,000 prize money, half of which will be donated to a charity.
Dota 2
The Dota 2 grand finals of the Globe PPGL 2018 was a match-up between two generations of Filipino Dota 2 greats. Manned by the country’s most celebrated veterans, TaskUs Titans confidently entered the grand finals against Quid Pro Quo, the only main event attendee that came all the way down from the regional qualifiers, with nothing but straight victories.
The first two games of the best-of-five series featured TaskUs Titans basically schooling the newbloods out of Quid Pro Quo. Despite getting into the tournament point without a hitch, the respect TaskUs Titans have for Quid Pro Quo was evident throughout the battle. Gone were their cheesy Broodmother picks as it got replaced by basic midlane heroes like Dragon Knight and Queen of Pain. They also reserved the first ban slot for Quid Pro Quo’s notorious Dark Willow during the first three games.
Quid Pro Quo seemed to have recognized the respect being given to them as they proceeded to return the favor by spoiling what could have been a perfect tournament run for TaskUs Titans. Right when Ryan “raging-_-potato” Qui went back at his Broodmother pick, the reigning Omen by HP Esports Tour champions snatched the game three victory.
After Quid Pro Quo handed their first tournament loss, TaskUs Titans proceeded to regroup in order to revisit their strategy. It was proven effective as they got Quid Pro Quo to tap out after 28 minutes of play. TaskUs Titans was crowned with the Globe PPGL 2018 Dota 2 grand championship title and PHP 200,000.
In the press conference, TaskUs Titans offlaner Ryo “ryOr” Hasegawa admitted that despite their somewhat effortless victory, they will never come to a tournament unprepared. With the win, TaskUs Titans also earned the right to represent the Philippines in the upcoming MPGL Asian Championship.
