HappyFeet, Entity Gaming, Mineski-CS:GO, EnDerr are against some steep competition
16 top-notch Filipino esports athletes will be welcoming the new year with a bang as they fly to Jiaozhou, China on January 11-14 to represent the Philippines for the World Electronic Sports Games 2017 Asia-Pacific Finals.
After successfully securing a slot at the WESG 2017 Philippines Qualifiers, another journey awaits Filipino delegates of Dota 2 (HappyFeet and Entity Gaming), Counter-Strike: Global Offensive (Mineski-CS:GO), and Starcraft II (EnDerr), as they try to fight their way to the coveted slot at the WESG 2017 main event against the best teams from Asia-Pacific.
HappyFeet and Entity Gaming
The WESG 2017 APAC Finals may not be until next month, but there’s already a huge amount of pressure on the side HappyFeet and Entity Gaming as they try to defend the championship title brought home by TNC Pro Team, who withdrew from this year’s tournament, last year.
With eight slots allotted for the region, HappyFeet and Entity Gaming need to outperform at least 10 opponents for them to secure a slot at the WESG 2017 main event. Even though majority of the contenders have little to no experiences in international bouts, some teams like Indonesia’s EVOS Esports, Indian’s Signify, China’s Rock.Y and Keen Gaming, Malaysia’s Fire Dragoon, and South Korea’s Kimchi Warrior can pose a serious threat against the Filipino delegates.
EVOS Esports, Signify, and Fire Dragoon are all household names in the Southeast Asian region. At some point, both HappyFeet and Entity Gaming were already able to prove how they are at par, or even better, against these squads.
Even though they are yet to meet, a Dota match between HappyFeet and Entity Gaming and China’s Rock.Y and Keen Gaming can be an even matchup. Amongst the Chinese contenders, only Keen Gaming has an experience of competing against international teams as they qualified or the ESL One Hamburg 2017 Major tournament. This feat was also achieved by HappyFeet, but they weren’t able to attend the main event due to visa issues.
The real problem for the Filipino delegates relies on the South Korean representatives, Kimchi Warrior, a squad composed of MP, QO, Febby, Dubu, of North America-based team Immortals and Reisin of EHOME.Immortals. Although they are yet to prove their worth under this banner, the individual track record of each player is undeniably impressive since four out five of their players secured a 5-6th place at The International 2016.
Mineski-CS:GO
Mineski-CS:GO is an undisputed champion in the Philippines but occasionally struggles to leave a mark outside its territory. With six slots available for the APAC region, the Filipino delegates will need to beat at least 11 contenders to secure a slot at the WESG 2017 main event.
Compared to the Dota 2 delegates, Mineski-CS:GO have bigger obstacles to overcome due to the participating CS:GO teams at the Asia-Pacific Finals. It which includes China’s Flash Gaming, Kazakhstan’s Gambit Esports, Indonesia’s Recca Esports, and Singapore’s B.O.O.T-dream[S]cape.
On a good day, Mineski-CS:GO has the capability of running down on their Southeast Asian rivals Recca Esports. The Filipino delegates were also able to defeat them in certain meetings but Recca’s consistency and composure make them a cut above Mineski. B.O.O.T-dream[S]cape, on the other hand, can also be a problem for the Hannibal-led squad due to this Singaporean team’s experience of representing the SEA region at the Dreamhack Masters Malmö earlier this year.
Meanwhile, China’s Flash Gaming, despite little international exposure, can also be a huge problem for Mineski-CS:GO due to their impressive run at the WESG 2017 China Finals. This team was responsible for the elimination of Chinese CS:GO powerhouse Tyloo Gaming in the WESG 2017 China Finals, after outshooting them, 2-1, in the best-of-three quarterfinals.
EnDerr
The Filipino Bonjwa has always been a pride for Filipino Starcraft II fans, until he took a break from the competitive scene. Now that he’s back for more Starcraft II action, with an overwhelming amount of experience despite little practice, every opponent EnDerr faces may be a challenge–especially South Korea’s Classic, Maru, Dark, and China’s XiGua.
Some of the APAC Finalist like Singapore’s Blysk already had a taste of EnDerr’s Zerg. However, the wave of Starcraft II veterans in Classic, Maru, and Dark can be too much for our Filipino Starcraft II delegate to handle.
With three slots allotted for the Asia-Pacific region, EnDerr needs to outperform 16 APAC Finalist to secure a slot to the WESG 2017 main event.
Catch HappyFeet, Entity Gaming, Mineski-CS:GO, and EnDerr this January 11-14 as they represent the Philippines in the WESG 2017 APAC Finals.
