CONQuest 2022 day 1 recap: ML legends in the flesh, esports tourneys, cosplay

One of the most awaited gaming and pop culture festivals in the Philippines, CONQuest 2022, kicked off the festivities, Saturday, July 23. Thousands of “questers” from all over the country gathered to see their favorite gamers, voice actors, and content creators out of their computer screens and in real life – and they were not disappointed.

Gaming and esports network AcadArena, the event’s organizer, has delivered some of the best gaming and anime booths, merch, and meet-and-greets for fans to enjoy. Here’s everything that went down!

Clenched jaws for the Alliance Games finals

Opening the festival floor is a heated battle between UPD and NEU for the AcadArena Alliance Games (AIIG) grand finals of League of Legends.

AIIG, dubbed as the “UAAP of Esports,” brings together different universities head to head in proving that campus esports is not just play. Now in its grand finals, the top five scoring schools will earn an exclusive AcadArena Scholarships & Aid fund of P30 000 for their students. 

League of Legends is one of the minor events for AIIG along with Wild Rift. Major events include Valorant, Mobile Legends: Bang Bang (MLBB), and Call of Duty: Mobile. More information on the games here.

The GOATs of MPL Philippines

Taking up the community stage is Blacklist International star duo V33Wise of the Mobile Legends Professionals League (MPL) for their free panel. The tandem shared that upcoming competitions will be challenging as organizations are investing in teams and not just individual players.

V33Wise is an amalgamation of Johnmar “OhMyV33nus” Villaluna and Daenerie “Wise” Del Rosario. The duo is arguably one of the biggest threats in the MLBB arena, having secured two MPL Philippines championships for the team. Not only that, they also bagged a huge win for the country in the M3 World Championships in Singapore, the 2021 edition of Mobile Legends’ biggest annual tournament.

For season 9 of MPL, the tandem decided to take a mutual hiatus and are set to return in season 10 as they defend their world championship title.

Games and gadgets for days

We wanted games and tech. So games and tech are what we got!

Lining the floors of the SMX Convention Center are the latest gears from chip manufacturers. Questers are free to test the gadgets and see for themselves the newest products technology has to offer.

Different brands also have mini stages, giving game and event updates. They also hold their own mini contests with merch giveaways.

And for gamers looking for classic titles from the heydays of 2D consoles, the festival also brought in old games for you to play for free. Some have also set up board games and quick Dungeon and Dragons sessions at the second floor of the event.

Our favorite fictional characters, fictional no more

Cosplayers are bringing to life our favorite anime and game characters. From the wardrobe and makeup, down to the accessories and weapons, they have every detail down pat.

Here are some of the best cosplays we’ve seen in the festival.

Questers showed their creativity not only through cosplays, they also exhibited it through paintings and other fan art.

CONQuer day 2 tomorrow!

The festival continues tomorrow with more headline events. Canadian Twitch streamer and content creator Kyedae will be returning to the meet and greet stage for day 2, while American YouTuber Michael Reeves greets fans in the afternoon.

AllG competitions also continue on day 2, with teams HAU and FIT competing in the Wild Rift finals, and ADMU and DLSU for Valorant. The Mobile Legends: Bang Bang finals will also take place.

Internet celebrity Lilypichu is also returning for day 2 of CONQuest as she and Michael Reeves answer some of the questions from audience members through a panel at the community stage.

Check the full schedule here. — with reports from Mary June A. Ricaña and Julian Cirineo/Rappler.com

Mary June A. Ricaña is a Rappler intern.