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Articles by Simon Garnace
Nexplay Esports is PH’s Best in LoL WR: ICON Series - Preseason
Nexplay Esports handily take down Sunsparks 4-0 to be the the Philippine League of Legends: Wild Rift champions for the Southeast Asia Icon Series 2021: Preseason. As one of the top performers in the country, Nexplay Esports were eyed as the favorites coming into the tourney. From the Contender Series to Wild Rift Underground, their top-jungle duo Miguel “Arisen” Vincent Pison and Juschie “Juschie” Tan, who are former League of Legends professionals, have been pivotal in the team’s success.
Cloud9, G2 Secure First Place Ahead of Spring Playoffs
Cloud9 and G2 Esports sit atop their region’s standings ahead of the Spring playoffs starting March 20, 2021. Following one of the closest splits of the League of Legends Championship Series, Cloud9 with their offseason pick-up of Luka “Perkz” Perković have narrowly secured first place ahead of Team SoloMid and Team Liquid. Earlier in the season, C9 struggled in the region’s first-ever LCS Lock-In as the team was still building synergy with Perkz and rookie top laner Ibrahim “Fudge” Allami.
Why White Tassel Works on Hu Tao: A Genshin Impact Guide
The 77th Director of the Wangsheng Funeral Parlor has come to haunt the land of Teyvat. If you ended up pulling the Walnut, then congratulations! But now, you must be wondering how to build her with all the artifacts, weapons, and characters for you to use. So, we rounded it up for the #F2Ps and made a guide on Director Hu using the debated 3-star polearm, the White Tassel. ADVERTISEMENT Prelude For our damage comparisons, we will have to make a few assumptions.
Streamer Sundays: Jay Perillo, the Mayor and his Empire
Remember him from Are you the Next Big Star? Known for his charismatic personality and golden voice, Jay Perillo plays Mobile Legends and Genshin Impact on his daily streams. Now, Mayor and his Empire are making their way across the galaxy to spread positivity in gaming. We caught up with the vocalist, radio host, and full-time streamer from Rumble Royale and checked in on how he’s doing in Esport Inquirer’s feature series Streamer Sundays.
PH Students to Face Top Asian Schools in LoL, HS, PUBG at IEF 2020 Korea
Filipino students from Luzon and Mindanao will be competing in League of Legends, Hearthstone, and PUBG in the International E-sports Festival 2020 Korea this November 28-29, 2020. Filipino representatives from the University of Santo Tomas, University of Mindanao, and Core Jesu College will be competing in Hearthstone, League of Legends, and PUBG for a combined prize pool of around $41,000.
SwordArt Signs $6M 2-Year Contract with TSM
After his underdog run at Worlds 2020, SwordArt will be moving over to North America for a $6 million 2-year contract with Team SoloMid. Hu “SwordArt” Shuo-Chieh, the former support of Suning, will be joining PowerofEvil and Spica in the team’s confirmed roster for the 2021 season. The roster move comes after the organization’s 0-6 run in the Worlds 2020 Group Stage.
UST Teletigers Reign True in AcadArena NCO, Qualifies for IEF 2020
The University of Santo Tomas Teletigers continue their reign of dominance in collegiate esports as they take down the University of San Agustin Golden Eagles 3-1 in the National Campus Open 2020. Once again, the legacy of the Teletigers dynasty lives on as they take their second League of Legends championship in 2020. After winning Summer in the Alliance League, the Teletigers were unrelenting in their pursuit to get their golden ticket to IEF 2020.
Imperium Pro Team Prevail at NetEase Marvel Super War Top Clans 2020 SEA Invitational
Philippine representative Imperium Pro Team are the champions of MARVEL Super War at the Top Clans 2020 SEA Invitational. Fellow Filipino team NMD Rage finished 2nd under them at the tournament. The Top Clans 2020 MARVEL Super War Southeast Asia Invitational has been one of the most competitive tournaments of the year so far. The best teams from SEA clashed for a chance to take home the lion’s share of the 20,000 USD prize pool.
Top 5 Steals for Gamers in 11.11
Well folks, November is upon us even though it feels as if March was just yesterday. But don’t fret, that means that 11.11 is here once again! With the Christmas season coming soon, it’s now the perfect time to get yourself or your loved ones a gift for the holidays.
Streamer Sundays: Chin Valdes, From Idol Philippines to Fanny One Trick
From Idol Philippines to the Land of Dawn, Chin Valdes has become one of the best-known Fanny streamers in Mobile Legends: Bang Bang. The celebrity streamer started streaming Mobile Legends in 2017 with the encouragement from singer Christian Bautista. Now, with a following of his own, Chin is flying his way to become the next big-name streamer in the industry.
Pinoy PUBG Squad DK Esports Bag First at World eSports Challenge 2020
Philippine PUBG amateur squad DK Esports take first place and around ₱200,000 in the World eSports Challenge 2020 held last October 31 to November 1. DK Esports upset the competition at the international event and stood atop amongst 16 teams from Korea, China, Japan, Philippines, Thailand, Malaysia, Singapore, and Indonesia. The team took home ₩5,000,000 which is around ₱210,000. ADVERTISEMENT The Philippine team consists of Fruity, Georgyyy, Limitless, and Mastahden.
Damwon Reclaim Summoner’s Cup for Korea in Worlds 2020
Damwon reclaim the Summoner’s Cup for the LCK as they take down Suning 3-0 in the Finals of Worlds 2020. After getting their Worlds run cut short at the quarters last year, Damwon Gaming has gone above and beyond in Season 10. Losing only three (3) games across Worlds 2020, Damwon Gaming dominantly establish themselves as the best League of Legends squad. ADVERTISEMENT To begin the series, Damwon Gaming held a decisive lead against Suning by stacking dragons in the early game.
AcadArena and Rumble Royale to Co-Develop Educational Classes for Students and Aspiring Streamers
AcadArena and Rumble Royale to Co-Develop Educational Classes for Students and Aspiring Streamers AcadArena, the Philippines’ leading campus esports initiative, is partnering with Rumble Royale to educate and develop Filipino students and aspiring streamers in esports. Throughout the rest of the year, AcadArena will be collaborating with Rumble Royale to create curriculums both for students and aspiring streamers.
Riot Games Collaborates with SBTG on Limited Edition Customized Wild Rift Kicks
SINGAPORE, 21 October 2020 – Riot Games stitched together an exciting collaboration with SBTG studios, to produce limited-edition customised sneakers to celebrate the launch of League of Legends: Wild Rift – the highly anticipated mobile multiplayer online battle arena (MOBA) game in Southeast Asia. The partnership celebrates the synergy of fashion and gaming. Limited Edition Wild Rift Air Force 1s by SBTG.
Worlds 2020: West’s Last Hope G2 Esports Step Up and Sweep Gen. G in Quarters
G2 Esports decisively strike down Gen. G 3-0 and redeem themselves in the Worlds 2020 Quarterfinals. After finishing second to Suning in Group A, G2 Esports have redeemed themselves by taking down Gen. G who performed well throughout groups. ADVERTISEMENT In Game 1, Luka “Perkz” Perković and Mihael “Mikyx” Mehle lost to Park “Ruler” Jae-hyuk and Kim “Life” Jeong-min in the bottom lane giving Gen. G a lead in the early game. However, G2 Esports found ways of picking off Gen.
Worlds 2020: Top Esports Reverse Sweep Fnatic to Deny Upset
JackeyLove and Top Esports reverse sweep Fnatic to deny them from advancing further in the Quarterfinals of Worlds 2020. Since 2018, Martin “Rekkles” Larsson has fallen time and again to the storied Yu “JackeyLove” Wen-Bo. In Worlds 2018, Rekkles reached the apex of his career as he qualified for the Finals but fell short to Invictus Gaming. Once again, JackeyLove denies Fnatic from taking a hold of the Summoner’s Cup after reverse sweeping them in the Quarterfinals.
Worlds 2020: Suning Upset JD Gaming to Reach Semis
In one of the tournament’s biggest upsets yet, Suning takes down JD Gaming 3-1 to qualify for the Worlds 2020 Semifinals. In Game 1, it looked as if the series was going to go as expected with JDG winning a close game against Suning. However, Suning took everyone by surprise in the Worlds 2020 Quarterfinals after taking down JDG in one fell swoop. ADVERTISEMENT From Games 2 to 4, Suning came alive and had their players stand out in back-to-back teamfights to win them the series.
Worlds 2020: Damwon Repeat Summer Finals After DRX Sweep in Quarterfinals
Damwon Gaming fulfill expectations and sweep DRX 3-0 once again to qualify for the Worlds 2020 Semifinals. In Game 1, DRX drafted a full-ranged composition and hoped to overtake Damwon Gaming in the laning phase. However, a misstep by Kim “Deft” Hyuk-kyu’s Caitlyn was all the leverage needed for DWG to swing the game in their favor. Damwon then proceeded to roll over DRX who couldn’t setup properly at objectives.
Worlds 2020: A Quarterfinals As Expected
Despite all odds, the League of Legends World Championship is in full swing heading into the Quarterfinals. The Worlds 2020 Group Stage went as expected with the exception of last year’s finalist G2 Esports falling second fiddle to Suning in Group A and Team SoloMid going 0-6 in Group C, but perhaps that was to be expected as well. In the Knockout Stage, we will be seeing regional match-ups once again as Suning takes on JD Gaming while DRX hope to one-up Damwon Gaming in a fated rematch.
Worlds 2020: Damwon Hope to Reclaim Region’s Crown After Getting Revenge Against G2 Esports
Damwon Gaming overcome their demons and take down G2 Esports 3-1 in the Worlds 2020 Semifinals. After falling to the European superteam in last year’s quarterfinals, Damwon Gaming gets their revenge and qualify for the Grand Finals of Worlds 2020. Despite faltering in Game 2, Damwon ADVERTISEMENT In Game 1, Damwon started the series with a dominant showing putting G2 Esports at an early deficit. Damwon Gaming secured an early Infernal soul and was able to close out the game by the 26-minute mark.
Worlds 2020: Top Esports and DRX Secure Last Spots at Quarterfinals
The East is looking to continue their dominance in Worlds 2020 as Top Esports and DRX are the last teams to qualify for the playoffs in the Group Stage. Group D went almost as expected barring an upset from FlyQuest taking down Top Esports in the last day of the Group Stage. Throughout groups, Top Esports asserted their dominance against the rest of the competition with their crisp play.
Worlds 2020: Gen. G and Fnatic Qualify for Quarterfinals Once Again
Fnatic and Gen. G rise above the Group of Death to qualify for the Worlds 2020 Quarterfinals! Touted as one of the hardest pools to predict, Fnatic (5-1) and Gen. G (4-2) made it out of Group C as the 1st and 2nd seed respectively. In Week 1, Fnatic, Gen. G, and LGD were in a three-way tie that set the pace for the group earlier on. However, LGD dropped the ball in the following week while TSM couldn’t even find a single win in the Group Stage. ADVERTISEMENT Throughout Worlds 2020, Gen.
Worlds 2020: East Dominates Group B As Damwon and JD Gaming Bound for Playoffs
In Day 6 of Worlds 2020, Damwon Gaming and JD Gaming wipe the floor in Group B to qualify for the Knockout Stage. The group played out by the book with Damwon Gaming and JD Gaming dominating Rogue and Paris Saint-Germain Talon all throughout groups. Despite the underdogs valiantly fighting back in the early game, the Eastern powerhouses knew how to shut them down when it came to map and objective play.
Worlds 2020: Suning and G2 Esports Qualify for Knockout Stage
As the Group Stage of Worlds 2020 nears its end, Suning (1st seed) and G2 Esports (2nd seed) place themselves a cut above Group A as they qualify for the Knockout Stage. In Group A, G2 Esports and Suning were the teams that the community expected to qualify right from the get go. In the first game of the group, the powerhouses went head-to-head in an intense back-and-forth that, in the end, led to a win for the European champions.
Streamer Sundays: Buunja, Rumble Royale’s Own Bunny Girl
You’ll see her on stream with her signature bunny ears and playful demeanor – it’s Buunja! Known for her League of Legends cosplays back in the day, Buunja has gotten herself a following by streaming Rules of Survival and League of Legends since 2018. Buunja plays everything from CS:GO, Mobile Legends: Bang Bang, and even Worm Zone! ADVERTISEMENT We caught up with the rising talent from Rumble Royale and checked in on how she’s doing in Esport Inquirer’s feature series Streamer Sundays.
Will Twitter be your new answering service?
Brazilian Twitter users are testing out direct voice messages. Image: fizkes/IStock.com via AFP Relaxnews A few weeks after rolling out the possibility to exchange voice messages (with a maximum time of 140 seconds) on its platform, Twitter is testing out private audio messages. Twitter is taking over good old voice mail, allowing private contacts or public ones (depending on your settings) to send and receive short audio files.
Riot Games Announces Official Esports for VALORANT: First Strike
Riot Games has announced their first-ever official esports tournament for VALORANT called First Strike. First Strike will be open to players sixteen and above who have reached Immortal 1 in the ranked ladder. The global tourney will be holding regional qualifiers across North America, Europe, CIS, Turkey, Asia, Oceania, Brazil, and the Middle East to determine who qualifies to the finals in December.
Sony’s PS5 Set to Start at PhP 20,000 For Digital Edition
Sony announced that the highly-anticipated PlayStation 5 will be coming out worldwide on September 19 for $499.99 for the regular version and $399.99 for the Digital Edition. The PS5 will be initially released on September 12 for the United States, Japan, Mexico, Australia, New Zealand, and South Korea. The rest of the world will be getting the next-generation console on November 19th.
EAA Alliance League Finals: In the Tiger’s Den
Collegiate esports continues to thrive this weekend as the University of Santo Tomas Teletigers hope to reclaim their former glory against the Holy Angel University Valiant Esports in the Grand Finals of the AcadArena Alliance League Summer 2020. Don’t know what to expect? We’ve lined up a preview of the upcoming best-of-five series right here.
UST Teletigers and HAU Valiant Esports To Face in Predator AcadArena Alliance League Finals
The Semi-Finals of the AcadArena Alliance League Summer 2020 had its upsets and stomps with the storied University of Sto. Tomas Teletigers and the up-and-coming Holy Angel University Valiant Esports coming out on top after the dust settled. Missed out? We put together a recap of the Semi-Finals where the Teletigers, Valiant Esports, UPD Oblation Esports, and FEU iTamaraws went all-out in the playoffs weekend.
Liyab Stay Calm And Sweep Panic Time To Retain Their Spot in PCS
Liyab Esports stayed calm as they swept Panic Time in the PCS 2021 Spring Promotion. Liyab Esports came out swinging as Edrian “Doedoii” Brancia put on an MVP-caliber performance on Graves going 7/0/7 in Game 1. Throughout the game, Panic Time’s bot lane kept getting punished with yjy’s Senna dying again and again. Liyab put out a statement against Panic Time that they came to the series in full throttle.
T1 Dynasty Down and Out: Gen. G Sweep T1 and Take Last Spot to Worlds 2020
T1 is out! Gen. G sweep Faker and T1 3-0 in the Regional Qualifiers to steal away the region’s last spot at Worlds 2020. To start off the series, Gen. G had Gwak “Bdd” Bo-seong secure first blood in the top lane which started their snowball against T1. Despite valiant efforts on the side of T1 to even the game, Gen. G simply had better tempo and punished T1’s mistakes heavily in the mid-game.
G2 and TSM Advance To LEC and LCS Grand Finals After Back-to-Back Silver Scrapes
After back-to-back Silver Scrapes across the West, G2 Esports and Team SoloMid crawl their way back to the Grand Finals of their respective regions. In the League of Legends European Championship, G2 Esports are set to take on Fnatic for the crown once again after taking down Rogue 3-2 in the lower bracket.
Salty Runback? Cloud9 To Stay Together in Next LCS Season
The once-dominant Cloud9 League of Legends squad will be staying together next year despite the disappointing end to their season run. After failing to qualify for Worlds 2020, Cloud9 is now in the off-season and looking to regroup for the next year. Despite the abrupt end to their season, the players announced that they will be staying together as a team in an interview with streamer Christian “IWillDominate” Rivera.
Machi Esports Dominate PSG to Become PCS Summer Split Champions
Machi Esports have finally taken down PSG Talon to become the champions of the PCS Summer Split 2020 and the region’s first seed at Worlds 2020. After a close series in the semifinals, Machi Esports made their way back to the Grand Finals after demolishing J Team 3-0 in the lower bracket. In the Grand Finals, MCX looked to get revenge against PSG who have taken their number one too many times in the past.
PSG Talon First To Qualify for Worlds from PCS
Paris Saint-Germain Talon defeat Machi Esports 3-2 in the upper bracket finals of the Pacific Championship Series 2020 Summer Playoffs and qualify for Worlds 2020. PSG started the series on good footing 2-0 and looked to advance to the Grand Finals. However, Machi Esports ran it back through the efforts of Lin “Koala” Chih-Chiang and Sung “Atlen” Ya-Lun in Games 3 and 4.
MAD Lions End Schalke Miracle Run To Qualify for Worlds
MAD Lions end Schalke 04’s miracle run 3-1 and take the League of Legends European Championship’s last ticket to Worlds 2020. Despite losing the first game of the series, MAD Lions held it together and kept their aggressive skirmish-heavy playstyle against Schalke 04 Esports. With series MVP Zhiqiang “Shadow” Zhao on Lee Sin and Lilia, MAD Lions were able to dictate the pace of the matches and the rest of the series.
Is it Panic Time? PNC to Face Liyab for PCS Slot
After a rough year in the Pacific Championship Series, Liyab Esports will be facing Panic for their slot in the regional league. Panic stood tall in the PCS 2021 Spring Promotion, only dropping a single game in the entire tournament. In the Finals, Panic swept Kaiju 3-0 to get a chance to contest Liyab for their slot in the PCS. Panic and the seven teams qualified for the promotion tournament by their cumulative ranking in Ranked Solo/Duo.
Origins and Growing Pains: Exclusive Interview with VALORANT Developers
During its beta, VALORANT had nearly three million players logged in to test out the all-new first-person shooter. After its release in June, Valorant has been averaging around 75,000 viewers and is ranked #7 on Twitch. Riot launched the second act of its tactical shooter last week with Killjoy, the Genius of Germany rounding out Valorant’s collection of agents. Heading into Act II, we spoke to Valorant developers to learn about the team’s process when they created the game.
ASUS Launches ROG Phone 3 in the Philippines
The ASUS ROG Phone 3 is now officially available in the Philippines. The gaming smartphone has three variants available for purchase. The Classic Edition which comes in 12 GB and 16 GB RAM variants comes at P54,995 and P49,995 respectively. Meanwhile, the Strix Edition is priced at a cheaper P39,995 but has a non-plus Qualcomm Snapdragon 865. ADVERTISEMENT The ROG Phone 3 Classic Edition features a 6.59-inch FHD+ 144Hz display with 512 GB of storage and a 6,000 mAh battery.
Schalke Make Miracle Run to Playoffs, Rogue Qualify for Worlds
In the final week of the League of Legends European Championship, Schalke 04 Esports and Fnatic secure the last remaining playoffs slot. Meanwhile, Rogue take first place and qualify for Worlds 2020. After a grueling first half of summer, Schalke 04 Esports narrowly made playoffs over Excel Esports to complete the miracle run from 0-9. On the way to the #S04MiracleRun, the struggling team had to take down the likes of Fnatic, G2 Esports, and MAD Lions to make it to playoffs.
TSM Clinch 3-2 Win Against Sentinels in FaZe Clan VALORANT Invitational
After a back-and-forth series, Team SoloMid take down Sentinels to become champions of the FaZe Clan VALORANT Invitational. TSM triumphed in the Ignition Series tournament among 16 teams with the likes of T1, Cloud9, and FaZe Clan invited. In Group B, TSM lost against Cloud9 1-2 in the upper bracket. However, they were still able to qualify for playoffs with a win over Renegades in the lower bracket.
Worlds 2020 To Push Through Starting September 25
The tenth League of Legends World Championship will push through starting September 25 in Shanghai, China. To ensure the health and safety of the players and staff, all stages of the 2020 World Championship will be held exclusively in Shanghai. The Finals of Worlds 2020 to conclude on October 31 will be held in the brand-new Pudong Soccer Stadium. ADVERTISEMENT According to Riot Games, the early stages of the tournament will not be played in front of a live audience.
Cignal Ultra and Nexplay Solid Qualify for MPL-PH S6
Cignal Ultra and Nexplay Solid have qualified for the sixth season of the Mobile Legends: Bang Bang Professional League – Philippines. Cignal and Nexplay stood out among 1000 teams in the qualifiers to reach Groups A and B of the Main Qualifiers. ADVERTISEMENT In Group A, Cignal Ultra narrowly took down Arkangel Esports 2-1 to qualify for the tournament. Meanwhile, Nexplay Solid handily took down Team Chik 2-0 to earn their spot at the regular season.
ADMU Student Beats N0tail in Dota 1v1 Match
Zedrik “Jeff” Dizon upset two-time The International champion and OG Team Captain Johan “N0tail” Sundstein 2-1 in the Red Bull R1v1r Runes Civil War one-on-one. When asked about how was it like to face N0tail , Jeff said “it was quite overwhelming at first”. ADVERTISEMENT “I was ready to 1v1 him but I wasn’t mentally prepared to be on a video call with him at the same time!” “It was quite surreal knowing that I was playing against a 2-time TI champion”, he added.
Top 5 Nintendo Switch Games to Try Out in Quarantine
It’s been four months since the pandemic began and since then, the Nintendo Switch has been on demand for those locked down in their own homes. Despite the pandemic, 2020 has been a stellar year for the Nintendo Switch and its collection of titles thus far. Whether you’re a gamer at heart looking to take up a challenge or just want to relax and have fun on your handy console, there’s a game out there for you to try out while in quarantine.
MPL-PH Becomes Media Partners With ABS-CBN Sports
ABS-CBN Sports is now the official media partner of Season 6 of the Mobile Legends: Bang Bang Professional League – Philippines. In the fifth season of the league, MPL-PH had a peak online viewer count of 317,330 in the Grand Finals. In the finals, Sunsparks, now Aura Esports, became the MPL’s first-ever two-time champion after taking down ONIC PH. ADVERTISEMENT Season 6 of MPL-PH will have a total prize pool of $120,00 USD or around ₱6,000,000.
League Flex Queue To Have No Rank Restrictions Starting 10.15
Starting Patch 10.15, League of Legends’ ranked Flex queue will allow players to queue up together regardless of their rank. Lead Gameplay Designer Mark “Scruffy” Yetter cited that the success of the unrestricted rank system in Clash was the primary reason for the changes to Flex queue. The new system will be using a weighted average that prioritizes higher skill players, like in Clash.
Legacy Cloud9 and TSM to Run It Back In Classic Showmatch
The legacy rosters of Team SoloMid and Cloud9 will be heading back to the Rift for a classic LCS showmatch on Saturday, July 11 at 8:oo A.M. Team SoloMid and Cloud9 are two of the frontrunners of the North American scene since 2012. The rival organizations have met multiple times in the Grand Finals and have won a number of championships for their respective orgs.
AkoSiDogie Comments Controversial Joke About Sexual Assault
In a now-deleted post, Dogie has recently made comments about him being “raped” and “enjoying” it in a joking fashion. In a post criticizing the anonymous confessions about sexual harassment in Esports Freedom Wall, Dogie said “ako nga nirape mo ako nun pero gusto ko <3”. The post Dogie commented under was questioning anonymous testimonies regarding sexual assault without concrete evidence being presented. ADVERTISEMENT Shoutcaster Midnight calling out AkoSiDogie’s controversial comment.
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