CODM Philippines National Championship Preview #3: Major storylines to keep an eye on

This article is part of a 3-part series preview for the upcoming 3rd CODM Philippines National Championship starting August 23.

As we move through the CODM Philippines National Championship, here are the major storylines to expect and keep an eye on as the tournament goes along.

Smart Omega’s run back to the championship and the “For Kyaaah” mantra

Having won the 1st Southeast Asian (Garena) Qualifier last year, Snart Omega was not able to participate in the last PNC (Winner of the PNC secures the country’s slot to the 2nd Southeast Asian Qualifier) because they were given an automatic slot to the CODM Garena Invitational. As a result, the squad formerly known as NRX Jeremiah didn’t have a chance to defend the PH Championship, which they first won way back in March of 2020. CKG Anarchy then rose up and emerged victorious in their absence. This time, they get a chance to reclaim their throne as the best in the Philippines as well as having extra motivation, it being to be able to win and qualify for the CODM World Championships for their former coach, Michael “Kyaaah” Belaya. Kyaaah died last April 2020 and members of Smart Omega openly stated they are aiming and doing all these for their fallen mentor, and that they will do their absolute best to make it happen. For a team carrying a lot of chips on their shoulders, it would not be surprising if this team ends up winning it all.

iPao: The difference-maker for FTSM

It is no secret that whenever Jerico “iPao” Gurtiza is on the lineup, the team succeeds at the highest level. That has been the case for the core group of Fantasma, known before as Emporia Esports, as they defeated the much-heralded NRX Jeremiah 29:11 in the semifinals of the Philippine Pro Gaming League (PPGL) CODM Tournament last year. However, due to some unknown reasons, iPao left the team, causing them to scrap back and regroup over at NRX, where the team became NRX Unknown. Without iPao, NRX Unknown struggled in big tournaments, especially in the last PNC, where the team only won a measly 3 games out of 21. As the team was recruited over at Fantasma, the group also decided to bring back iPao, to which he agreed. They now traverse through this tournament with the knowledge and skills better than ever before. And with iPao now back on board, they will definitely challenge the best teams at the summit for the country’s glory.

Girl Power: Women amongst Men

Among the 16 teams in contention 2 are girls teams, in Ultimate Abyss and PDR Bees displayed incredible grit and toughness to beat boys teams in order to reach this stage. Regardless of the results that will dictate whether they’ll be able to proceed to the next round or not, reaching this stage and attaining this milestone is already a huge achievement for them and serves as an inspiration to other female teams. They have already made a statement: nothing is impossible and girls can hang with the best of the boys in-game.

PDR’s ability to finish and dominate

Considering their achievements in majors, most notably having a top 4 finish during the last Philippines National Championship, PDR Esports must be and should have been the favorites to come out of Group B. Unfortunately, this has not been the case thus far as they have just established themselves in the group, if not for an age eligibility issue with VVV ’10 (caused a rematch which PDR won) they weren’t supposed to be in here in the top 16.

Tyrant Destra, CKG Elevate, and C8 Esports, all teams with lots of experience and exposure in minor tournaments in the country, all pose a threat to snatch pole position from them. Now it’s up to PDR to demonstrate their wares and show their experience to come out of the group.

Who comes out of the Group of Death?

In perhaps the toughest out of the 4 groups, Group C is looking to be an absolute bloodbath for the group’s pole position. Aside from perennial contenders RTL Esports (top 4 finalists for the last PNC) and Ultimate E-Pro, it also features two quality teams in Team Creamy and Velocity Esports. Although fans expect it to come down just between the two former teams, which also has a rivalry on their own, expect the two latter teams to make some noise and gain some tracking in providing gameplay enough to challenge the opposition.

Pro players vs Leaderboards: Best of both worlds collide 

Another intriguing matchup for the books sees multi-awarded pro team in the country Smart Omega pitted against DVK Rexus ALT, Sigra x Aim, and Tokyo Osaka, teams all packed with leaderboard players. As a common perception in the gaming community, it has been a notion that pro players who achieved in the game at the highest level of play have not been in the leaderboards, and vice versa, the cream of the crop of the leaderboards players has not achieved that much in the majors. Group D features the best teams of both categories to shine and prove once and for all who is better.

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