Philippine League of Legends Representatives take 2nd place at eSports World Championship
After a promising run going into the finals, Acion Arena takes 2nd place after succumbing to South Korea, 2-0, at the 8th e-Sports World Championship held at Ancol Beach Auditorium in Jakarta, Indonesia.
The representatives of South Korea, who had an unblemished 5-0 record coming into the game, proved their dominance in both outings with good performances from Korea’s Ming and and Haram.
In the first match, Philippines got an early lead after snagging the first blood. However, South Korea gained the upper hand after South Korea’s Jungler dished out impressive ganks. It didn’t go well for the Filipino-based squad, trailing by as much as 15k gold in the game.South Korea dealt the final blow to Acion Arena after KOR Haram’s Vayne went for the pentakill inside Acion Arena’s own base.
It was the same story for the second game. Acion Arena opted to go for AP carries to mitigate the damage coming from South Korea’s Ming. The Filipinos drew the first blood again with their jungle invade strat. The game was going smoothly for Acion Arena as they jolted an ace to even up the record in the early game, 9-9.
Acion Arena crumbled late in the game after South Korea got an ace and the baron with the help of Bard’s Tempered Fate and Lamb’s Respite from Kindred to successfully set up a good initiation against the Philippines. From here it was South Korea dictating the flow of the match, eventually taking the game and the series to 2-0.
Filipino fans were still supportive of Acion Arena’s Cinderella run in the finals, considering they defeated defending champions Serbia in the semifinals. They also made headlines after being the first local League of Legends team to come this close to winning an international championship.
They have surely captivated the hearts of many Filipino summoners./JE/
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