Top Google searches in PH for 2018: Lotto results, Ex Battalion, Meteor Garden

MANILA, Philippines – Google released its list of top searched keywords for the Philippines in 2018 across various categories,  including news, movies, tv shows, and games. The list is based on the highest search spike for a term compared to last year. 

In the news category, “Lotto results” topped the list, peaking from October 7 to 13, 2018, leading up to the eventual drawing of the 2 winners who split the record-setting P1.18-billion jackpot, the biggest in Philippine lotto history. “DFA online appointment” was second, followed by SONA 2018.  

In the male personalities category, hiphop group Ex Battalion was the most-searched-for local personality, but was topped by Chinese Meteor Garden actor Dylan Wang at No.2, and Freddie Mercury at the top spot. Ex Battalion is the group behind the hit song “Hayaan Mo Sila,” which itself was a top-ranked search term in 2018. “Hayaan Mo Sila lyrics” is No. 4 in the overall category. The biopic for singer Freddie Mercury, “Bohemian Rhapsody,” topped the movie category. 

For female personalities, Meghan Markle topped the list, with “Nancy Momoland” at No. 2 and Hailey Baldwin at No. 3, the wife of singer Justin Bieber.

“Meteor Garden 2018” topped the TV show category – a category dominated by 5 South Korean shows, A Love So Beautiful, Hwayugi, Go Back Couple, What’s Wrong With Secretary Kim, and Doctor Crush. Three Filipino TV shows figured in the list: Halik at No. 3, Kadenang Ginto at No. 6, and Bagani at No. 9. 

Basketball, unsurprisingly, dominated the event category, with the “NBA Playoffs” at No. 1, “NBA Finals” at No. 3, and “GSW vs Rockets” at No. 6. The last one, a reference to the Golden State Warriors and Houston Rockets’ Western Conference Finals matchup, was perceived among fans as the real NBA Finals. 

The actual Warriors-Cavaliers NBA Finals matchup was a series where the Cavaliers were seen to be greatly overmatched, which is likely why the series didn’t rank in the top search results this year.

Esports made its way to the rankings as well in this category with “Kuala Lumpur Major” – a Dota 2 tournament – ranking 9th. The only non-sporting event was “Binibining Pilipinas” at No. 10. 

In games, the term “MemoryHackers” and “Hot Shot Gamers” came at No. 1 and No. 2, which both referred to a cheating mechanism in the battle-royale videogame Rules of Survival, which coincidentally is 3rd in the same category. The two terms are also the top 2 terms overall this year, which means Rules of Survival gamers may have been very naughty this year. 

Google also had a category for people who died this year, with comic book legend Stan Lee, chef and author Anthony Bourdain, and designer Kate Spade in the top 3. Below are the full lists: 

Overall Trending Searches

1. MemoryHackers
2. Hot Shot Gamers
3. NBA Playoffs 2018
4. Hayaan Mo Sila lyrics
5. Rules of Survival
6. Lotto results
7. Meteor Garden 2018
8. Summertime Saga
9. Perfect lyrics
10. World Cup

News

1. Lotto results
2. DFA online appointment
3. SONA 2018
4. Typhoon Ompong
5. Mayon Volcano
6. Typhoon Mangkhut
7. TRAIN Law
8. Inflation
9. Walang Pasok
10. Tax Reform 2018

Events

1. NBA Playoffs 2018
2. World Cup
3. NBA Finals 2018
4. Pacquiao vs Mattysse
5. Asian Games 2018
6. GSW vs Rockets
7. Wimbledon 2018
8. Australian Open 2018
9. Kuala Lumpur Major
10. Binibining Pilipinas

Movies

1. Bohemian Rhapsody
2. The Nun
3. Avengers Infinity War
4. Black Panther
5. Captain Marvel
6. A Quiet Place
7. Midnight Sun
8. To All The Boys I Loved Before
9. Deadpool 2
10. The Hows of Us

TV Shows

1.  Meteor Garden 2018
2. A Love So Beautiful
3. Halik
4. Hwayugi
5. Go Back Couple
6.  Kadenang Ginto
7. What’s Wrong with Secretary Kim
8. Princess Hours
9. Bagani
10. Doctor Crush

Games

1. MemoryHackers
2. Hot Shot Gamers
3. Rules of Survival
4. Summertime Saga
5. Ragnarok Eternal Love
6. Fortnite
7. Technicpack
8. Runeforge
9. PUBG
10. Evo Wars

Female Personalities

1. Meghan Markle
2. Nancy Momoland
3. Hailey Baldwin
4. Momoland
5. Kyline Alcantara
6. Angel Aquino
7. Ej Laure
8. Catriona Gray
9. Princess Thea
10. Kz Tandingan

Male Personalities

1. Freddie Mercury
2. Dylan Wang
3. Ex Batallion
4. Sylvester Stallone
5. Hu Yi Tian
6. CJ Ramos
7. Calvin Abueva
8. Logan Paul
9. Bugoy Cariño
10. Kawhi Leonard

Losses

1. Stan Lee
2. Anthony Bourdain
3. Kate Spade
4. Stephen Hawking
5. Avicii
6. Rico J Puno
7. Xxxtentacion
8. Mac Miller
9. Arnold Corpuz
10. Aretha Franklin

– Rappler.com