Ilonggo ‘LoL’ scene ends 2016 with region’s biggest tourney

ILOILO CITY, Philippines – A year’s worth of storylines for the Iloilo-based League of Legends community was closed out with the finals of the Acclaim 20th Anniversary Tournament on Saturday, Dec 10. 

The largest tournament in the region to date, the Acclaim 20th Anniversary Tournament was attended by 56 teams from across the Iloilo province. Preliminary events were held at all four Acclaim Computer Center branches last December 3, with the winner of each set to congregate in the finals. 

After qualifying through the stacked Acclaim West preliminary, local team TNC Steel Wolves came out on top as the best non-professional team in Iloilo. They were undefeated throughout their run, taking out fellow Ilonggo titans Salvaxe Gnari and Voiceless Gaming along the way. Smart plays from their jungler ‘T3dd SV’ won over the crowd, taking games over with his Graves and Hecarim.  They were awarded a prize of 20,000 PHP for their first place finish.  

With the victory secured, TNC were faced with another challenge: fighting arguably the strongest team in the country, Acclaim’s very own EmpireX, in a showmatch. Though they lost, a valiant effort was put up on their part. Their performance earned them the admiration of Rikki “Riku” Quiapon, one of the country’s premiere commentators and the tournament’s primary on-site analyst. Karl “Karlculated” Duazo, one of EmpireX’s players, also offered the team praise : “For me, TNC are very mechanically skilled; they’ll get better with more experience.”

The Acclaim 20th Anniversary Tournament finals were attended by a host of local personalities and fans. To the organizers, the event was a success and that they look forward to hosting more of its kind in the future. “We’ve had 20 years of serving the Ilonggo Gaming Community,” said Acclaim proprietor Francis Chu. “We would just would like to say a big thank you for the unending support!”

With more high-profile events happening not just in the capital but also in the province, it’s safe to say that Philippine eSports has a bright future ahead of it. – Rappler.com

Justin is a 17-year-old esports journalist from the City of Love, Iloilo and is the Editor-in-Chief for Smashboards. He spends his spare time programming, practicing fighting games and working on videos. You can catch him on Twitter at @PopiSSB.