2024 in Philippine Esports: A journey in One Direction
2024 in Philippine Esports: A journey in One Direction
MANILA – A lot has happened in the entirety of 2024 when it comes to the Filipino esports scene. Tales of triumph, shades of happiness, loads of shock, and even a bit of a sadness and anger.
While we have this year-ender made in the a.m. after an up-all-night Christmas party, get ready because we’ll take you home to Filipino esports’ midnight memories… and it’s more than just four.
Load the tapes, open the albums, and enjoy a year-long memory trip in one direction!
Love You, Goodbye
2024 marks the end of Wild Rift Esports Asia as we knew it, with Riot Games pulling the plug off Wild Rift League in the Asia-Pacific region.
G2 Blacklist, the last hope for the Filipino League of Legends: Wild Rift faithful, crawled all the way back in the Wild Rift Asia playoff gauntlet and ended up in second place behind China’s KeepBest Gaming. However, this would be the last hurrah for the LOLWR professional scene.
Last April 15, Riot Games, the creator of LOLWR, announced that the APAC region will have the same fate as the rest of the world outside China, with official Riot-sanctioned tournaments to be halted in favor of third-party competitions. This left the Chinese WRL to be the sole Riot-sanctioned Wild Rift League in the world.
With the announcement, teams from the entire region, including Filipino teams, disbanded one by one. G2 Blacklist, Fennel Adversary, and NAOS Esports disbanded their squads, with players either transferring to other teams, venturing into new esports titles, or retiring for good.
Despite having local tournaments such as Wild Rounds Pilipinas last September, the departure of key players and teams has put Wild Rift Esports from a promising scene to a vastly overshadowed one.
Moments
Alexander “AK” Laverez has had his fair share of triumphs and struggles, and this has been best represented in the 2024 campaign, when he finally tasted not just silverware, but another golden moment.
He won gold for regional Tekken 7 tournaments here and there, and he was also a perennial contender in all international competitions. However, he always came up short in every finals appearance, most notably during his fight against Arslan “Arslan Ash” Siddique in EVO Japan 2019.
Things however have a different turn in 2024 with the release of the latest iteration of the fighting game franchise, Tekken 8, where he was among the first to adapt to the new meta. AK arrived at the Combo Breaker 2024 tournament in god mode, steamrolling the competition until he reached the Finals Bracket.
The Filipino Tekken master proved to be a different beast altogether where he was using his trusted Shaheen to dominate Jeong “Rangchu” Hyeon-ho in three games, before outlasting Muhammad “Farzeen” Farzeen in four games to clinch a Grand Finals berth.
Arslan Ash met him in the finals, using Nina to counter Shaheen, and eventually getting a 2-1 series advantage. However, AK soldiered on to two 3-2 round finishes to finish the series three games to two and claim his first-ever title.
Truly enough, AK finally has his moment.
Another World
Filipino multiplayer online battle arena fans have something new to look for as the global launch of the primarily-Chinese-catered game Honor of Kings was announced on June 20. Back then, there were only a few countries outside of China who had access to the game, with Brazil being the first one in March 2023.
Several stars of the League of Legends: Wild Rift scene such as Chammy “Chammy1” Nazarrea, Justine “Juschie” Tan, and Golden Hart “GoldenKite” Dajao, all gold medalist in the 2023 SEA Games, as well as former M2 participants Adrian “Toshi” Bacallo and Carlito “Ribo” Ribo Jr., jumped to the scene, making the Philippines an instant contender to the HOK global scene.
With the game adapted to a more fast-paced and teamfight-heavy style, HOK had immediately grabbed a loyal following, with the official esport scene to be launched next year.
However, before the 2025 roadmap was even announced, BOOM Esports and Blacklist International already made heads turn with a successful campaign in the HOK championship despite having a clear lack of experience in the game. BOOM finished joint 7th-8th in the tournament, while Blacklist claimed a joint 5th-6th spot.
Toshi meanwhile was the star of the show for Indonesian side Dominator Esports, where he was on loan for the tournament. Dominator finished second only to Black Shrew Esports of Malaysia in the Grand Finals as the farm laner became one of the few players who have a deep run in both world championships of two different esports titles.
History
Smart Omega Empress, for the longest time, had been the best female team in the country by a mile, beating fellow Filipino opposition with ease. However, it wasn’t easy in the international stage as Indonesian teams repeatedly battered opposition and became the best region for MLBB’s female esports scene.
It was even more apparent when France-based Team Vitality signed the best team at the time, Bigetron Era, while Team Falcons signed the roster of GPX Basreng to become Team Falcons Vega. But that didn’t stop the Smart franchise to have an inspiring run to the top of the MLBB ladder.
The Empress finished on top of Group B after a win against Myanmar’s Net Angels and a draw against DreamMax Girls, before starting their playoff run against Gaimin Gladiators HomeGirls in the quarterfinals.
They have an much easier semifinals match as they swept Victory Song Gamers in three games as they set up a date against Team Vitality, who endured a tough fight with compatriots Falcons Vega.
The Indonesian run however was short-lived as Smart Omega Empress forced Michelle “Chell” Siswanto on playing less comfort heroes and Vivi “Vivian” Indrawaty with early set attempts. The Empress took the trophy in a 3-0 sweep and USD180,000 in prize money, as Sheen “Shinoa” Perez took home the Finals MVP award.
With the win, Filipino MLBB female players have put themselves in the history books.
Magic
Elevate’s Call of Duty Mobile team has one of the best season in any FIlipino esports teams by far as they have achieved the esports golden road, winning both Garena Masters Seasons 6 and 7 as well as the 2024 Summer Invitational against China’s Qing Jiu Club before taking the coveted World Championship trophy.
As they also won another title, the CODM 2024 Garena Finals, they earn a spot in the World Championships, where they beat India’s GodLike, Qing Jiu Club, and fellow SEA standout Stalwart Esports.
It was in the playoffs first round where they cemented their status as world-beaters as they topple down 2023 World Champs Wolves Esports before taking down Brazilian outfit Galoris.
Elevate however took no prisoners against Q9, who they had defeated twice in less than a month at that time, to put themselves as the best in the world of CODM.
The all-Filipino squad went through Summit, the Firing Range, Raid, and Hacienda, as they didn’t drop a game against the Chinese team to grab the crown on their already-loaded trophy cabinet.
The win completed the season of Magic not just for the CODM Filipino community, but the entirety of Southeast Asia as well.
Perfect
As we see the slow burn of the legends of Falcons AP.Bren, ECHO (now Team Liquid PH) and Blacklist International in the turn of the year, Fnatic ONIC Philippines was brewing their best lineup ever, with the addition of Duane “Kelra” Pillas and King Cyric “K1NGKONG” Perez in Season 13. However, they fell short that time as FCAP and TLPH continued their extended international runs.
It was in the Mid-Season Cup when FCAP finally hit the roadblock when they suffered a then-shock loss to Malaysia’s Selangor Red Giants in Game 7. TLPH on the other hand was unable to win any silverware after their MPL PH S13 triumph, getting three more bridesmaid finishes in RIyadh, Kuala Lumpur, and Kazan.
While FCAP and TLPH’s tour was on its last legs, FNOP had grabbed the services of Borris “Brusko” Parro and Kirk “Kirk” Gutierrez, and from there began steamrolling the competition.
Winning the MPL PH S14 almost unscathed, FNOP not only took the M6 title but absolutely blew the competition, including wins against BloodThirstyKings, SRG, Falcon Esports, CFU Gaming, and three series against Team Liquid Indonesia. To make matters even better, they did not drop a single series in the tournament, something that wasn’t done by any Filipino teams in the M-Series since the world championship began.
It was also the crowning moment for Kelra, who had only one trophy in the pro scene since he entered in 2021, as he was hailed the Finals MVP in both MPL PH and M6.
Truly a perfect run for Fnatic ONIC Philippines, putting the words “Pilipinas Pinakamalakas” in action, and they may only just be starting.
As we look back on 2024, it’s clear that the Filipino esports scene isn’t just living while we’re young—it’s making history. From wild rivalries to storylines that made us even more strong, each win and every loss played like little things adding up to a perfect year. And while the scene may have seen its fair share of bittersweet moments, one thing’s for sure: the story of 2024 will remain a night changes worth remembering, and those stories were what made 2024 in Philippine esports beautiful.
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