MANILA, Philippines — Sibol’s Taon ng Tagumpay campaign continued in flourish in the 15th World Esports Championship (WEC) held in Iasi, Romania as the Philippines was crowned grand champion of the annual competition organized by the International Esports Federation (IESF).
Sibol bested fellow Asian bet Kyrgyzstan, which led the overall ranking at the start of the weekend with their PUBG Mobile gold and Dota 2 bronze results.
Sibol’s Tekken 7 bet Alexandre “AK” Laverez gave the Philippines a chance for the grand championship title when he punched his way to the Tekken 7 grand finals up against reigning Tekken World Tour champion Atif “Atif” Ijaz of Pakistan.
It was a slow start for Laverez as he was unable to defeat Ijaz on his signature Akuma. But with a change in tactic by Laverez and Coach Martin Conrad “Mawts” Veerayah to use Akuma as well, Laverez managed to deny the sweep, winning two rounds.
Eventually, Ijaz’s lead proved enough to take the win 2-5, and Laverez took the country’s first medal in the WEC — a silver.
It was down to Sibol’s Angelo “Phewww” Arcangel, David Charles “FlapTzy” Canon, Michael Angelo “KyleTzy” Sayson, Marco Stephen “SUPER MARCO” Requitano, Rowgien Stimpson “Owgwen” Unigo, Jan Bradford “XBOCT” Amande, and coaches Francis “Duckeyyy” Glindro and Vrendon “Vrendon Lin” Pesebre as the Mobile Legends Bang Bang (MLBB) event went down to its final four teams.
Assured of at least a bronze at the beginning of the weekend, SIBOL’s MLBB team did not hold back as they swept Saudi Arabia, 2-0, in the Upper Bracket Finals to be one match away from that elusive gold.
The road, however, would not be an easy one as they were up against fierce rivals, Indonesia.
Meeting in an earlier match-up in the Upper Brackets, Indonesia avenged their earlier losses as they took Game 1 after an almost 30-minute match-up. Not wanting to give their opponents any more advantage, Sibol tied the series 1-1 after a dominant 14-minute play, which gave the Filipino squad the momentum they needed to take the series 3-1, avenging the country’s defeat in last year’s WEC against Indonesia in MLBB.
The gold medal finish was the kicker Sibol needed to take the top spot of the overall rankings and was declared the tournament’s grand champion. In the closing ceremony, which it was announced that the 16th World Esports Championship will be hosted by Saudi Arabia.
Sibol’s next hurdle will be the coming Asian Games in Hangzhou China at the end of this month.
Source: The Philippine Star | September 4, 2023
