[Flame Break] MPGL and Fairy Tales
The MPGL SEA Grand Finals just concluded a few days ago and it was really nice to see Rave getting the crown as well as Arcanys putting up a good fight in the championship round. It is also interesting to note that the Malaysians have gotten the Macho Man title once again — the second time in a row. However, these were not the only stories that unfolded during the course of the tournament. There were quite a few Cinderella-style stories that graced the competition, from Vietnam’s NVIDIA Aces surprising everyone by bagging third place to Inquirer.NET featuring articles from the MPGL on their main page.
Things seem to be getting better…
1. Breaching the Million-Peso Mark:
The cash prize has reached the million-peso mark. This is important because it’s usually just game shows, reality series on televisions, and raffle promos that are able give away this amount of money. This shows that prize pools in electronic sports have become sustainable, which in turn would promote stability and motivation especially in the local scene.
These tournaments are the things needed in order to introduce professionalism and work ethics into the local electronic sports scene.
Willie Revillame, a popular game show host in the Philippines that became a meme celebrity; “Bigyan ng Jacket!”(Give him/her a jacket!) became synonymous with commending someone on their feats
2. The Run of the New Blood…
It is really interesting to notice the run of the new MSI-EvoGT Dota 2 team (formerly Powerplay/Alapets) in the lower brackets: It is amazing that after they beat Mineski in the Ultimate Wild Card stage of this tournament, they were able to deliver solid performances even as they dropped to the lower bracket, with their fairy tale run only stopped by Singapore’s Insidious Idol, who were in turn beat by another surprise star of the tournament: NVIDIA Aces from Vietnam, the home of the Starsboba legend.
MSI-EvoGT is a team with great potential. I hope that they do not squander it.
3. Vietnamese: Surprise!
NVIDIA Aces created a lot of uproar in the tournament when they dominated the group stages of the MPGL SEA Grand Finals without a single loss, losing only to Rave in the playoffs. They then systematically destroyed everyone — even Team Malaysia, who were considered to be one of the favorites of the tournament. However, eventual second-placer Arcanys made short work of them in the loser bracket finals with a 2-0 score. Still, it is a sign that the Vietnamese are slowly clawing their way back into the game. That they earned a good third-place finish is not shabby either, considering that it is their first LAN tournament abroad!
One question: Will they able to repeat the Starsboba legend in Dota 1?
Only time will tell.
4. The Old Guard is Not Here!
Execration, fresh from a roster change and a good run at the StarLadder Season X LAN finals, were not able to reach the top three. Earlier in the qualification rounds, Mineski had dropped to the MSI-EvoGT Dota 2 team with a bang and Julz’s Olympus Gods did not make the cut as well. However, in their place, a lot of new blood were able to fill their places in a satisfactory way.
Still, it is sad to see that Jay and Julz were not able to participate in the tournament. Maybe next time…
5. New Blood Dominates!
Without Mineski and the rest of the Filipino teams, these were the teams that represented the Philippine flag in the tournament: Click N’Search (another team to watch out for), MSI-EvoGT (already mentioned above), Execration (the only one from the old guard), Arcanys (the boys from Cebu and CDO, getting a respectable second place) and Rave, the Korea-based Pinoy team who eventually went on to win the grand prize of P800,000 through their stable gameplay and mechanics.
Is this a sign that the Filipino Dota 2 scene is getting the quality that it needs to show?
6. All-Pinoy Grand Finals: Overseas versus the South
From swords and shields to machine-like efficiency, the grand finals between Rave and Arcanys is a must-watch for those who have missed it.
There are actually two stories in this item: The first story is of a team from the South working to make its mark in one of the largest tournaments that the South East Asian scene can offer. The other story is one of determination and hunger, an insatiable hunger for more glory and honor…
Only one story prevailed in the end.
Sure, Rave prevailed, but we have to admit that the boys from the South gave the Korea-based Pinoy team a good run for their money.
7. Electronic Sports goes mainstream!
For the first time in Filipino history, a Philippine national newspaper shared an article on electronic sports. This is actually the thing that is needed the most: If electronic sports is ever to be legitimized and institutionalized, then ordinary people should be able to understand it so that they will be able to form an informed opinion about it.
Electronic sports, if one thinks about it, is just the same as other forms of media: books, opera, music. However, since it is a new medium, it is natural that people will not be supportive of it at first — humans fear what is foreign to them.
Thus, as I mentioned above, electronic sports should be explained in a way that the majority of the population would be able to understand it. With that, I am hoping that in the near future, eSports will get the recognition that it deserves in this country.
These were some of the stories that have unfolded over the course of the MPGL SEA Grand Finals this year.
If this is any indication, it can be said that this is the “roller coaster” year of Filipino Dota: From the match-fixing scandals to the numerous foreign LAN performances and finally to this tournament.
This is how should Filipino Dota end this year — with a bang.
*Note: The columnist’s views do not represent eSports Inquirer’s position on the topic or issue being discussed in this article.
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