Cebu E-Sports

GameVolution Inc. Launch a Success!

2011-11-02T23:55:00.000+08:00

GameVolution Inc., the newest E-Sports visionaries currently based in Cebu, held its official launch last October 29, 2011 during the Anime Role-play(ing) Comics Hobbies Convention (more popularly known as ARCHCon) at the Sacred Heart School Jesuits Old Campus in Gen. Maxillom Ave.

The StarCraft II Open Invitational Tournament was one of the highlights of the event, as well as tutorial for StarCraft enthusiasts who want to experience professional coaching from a few of Team Cube's finest SC2 players. SC2 participants got to go head-to-head with pro players from team Cube Dione, Rixilius, Bishop and Psych.

The GVI DotA tournament was open for everyone who participated in the Cebu Gaming League Season 2 Opening Tournament. From the qualifiers held in GOLS Talamban, 4 Defense of the Ancients team battled it out for the top spot. Team Barney, currently the oldest existing Cebu top team, was crowned the champion; while NotSoSneaky, came in second place, with Pain Gaming close behind and Team Edu in fourth place.

Due to the successful launch, Cebuano players (as well as players from other parts of the Philippines) can be sure to expect surprises and more active E-Sports involvement from the Gamevolution Inc. which will be announced in this blog later this week.

Meanwhile, on the same day, Mineski held their Mineski Professional Gaming League finale in the Pinoy Gaming Festival that also featured the StarCraft II WCG Qualifiers.

Our representatives from the Defense of the Ancients and StarCraft II didn't end up being champions, but ZeitGeist ended up being in the Top 8.
The PGF DotA tournament bracket.

CubeSalt, formerly known as SteelHeart (WCG 2007 representative for StarCraft Broodwar), landed in the Top 4.

To know more about the StarCraft II current scene (In Cebu and the Philippines in general), you might want to check out the following articles by Mineski: SteelHeart's Interview before PGF Cebu SC2 WCG qualifier article courtesy of Mineski This is a link to Mineski's interview of the PGF SC2 top 3

Other articles:
September:
CGL Season 2 Introduction
CGL Season 2 Tournament Details
CGL Season 2 Opening Tournament Updates and Results

October:
MPGL Cebu Recap
MPGL Cebu 1 Champions Crowned
Getting Ready for ARCHCon2011
ArchCon Qualified Teams
Countdown to ARCHCon

Countdown to ARCHCon

2011-10-24T12:47:00.000+08:00

ARCHCon 2k11 (Anime RPG Comics Hobbies Convention) is just around the corner, here are the confirmed participants for the DotA tournament.

From the winners' bracket:

Team Barney

Named after the Purple Dinosaur
(which they like to consider PINK).

Team Barney is the Pride of the South. Currently the oldest surviving Cebu top team, Barney made its mark in current Cebu E-Sports history when they became the 2nd runner-up in Mineski Infinity's Opening Tournament.

Team NotSoSneaky

Named after the former Team Sneaky
(unofficially considered Latos 2).

Team NotSoSneaky is a team of GOLS TC pub players. Individual play with a bit of team chemistry, NSS made its mark in Cebu E-Sports history when 3 days after it was formed, it became the 2nd runner-up in Mineski Professional Gaming League Cebu 1-3.

From the losers' bracket:

Pain Gaming

Formerly known as Rx.Spider.

Pain Gaming were a bunch of individuals playing at the South Side. They decided to team-up and venture on various bet games to improve their skills. Pain Gaming made its debut in the Cebu Gaming League Season 2 Opening Tournament, and they're planning to go further in the future.

Team Edu

Named after their old manager Eduardu or Edu (sig kaon manok).

Team Edu was formed last year, out of the desire to experience team play rather than the usual pub gaming. All friends and living in the same area, Team Edu values loyalty and friendship as well as a goal to be one of the best teams in Cebu.

The bracket so far:

Other articles:
September
CGL Season 2 Introduction
CGL Season 2 Tournament Details
CGL Season 2 Opening Tournament Updates and Results
October:
MPGL Cebu Recap
MPGL Cebu 1 Champions Crowned
Getting Ready for ARCHCon2011
ArchCon Qualified Teams

ARCHCon Qualified Teams

2011-10-16T16:05:00.001+08:00

After a little over 2 hours, the top 4, who will be playing in ARCHCon on October 29, 2011 have been decided.

Barney
NotSoSneaky (formerly Tatangs Dream Team)

Edu

Pain Gaming (formerly Rx.Spider)

round 1:
Rx.Spider (W) vs. Edu (DQ) (no game)
KisDaGround (DQ) vs. Barney (no game)
Lacion (L) vs. NotSoSneaky (W)
Exe.kyut (W) vs. Maximillianus (DQ) (no game)

round 2:
Rx.Spider (DQ) vs. Barney (W) (no game)
NotSoSneaky (W) vs. Exe.kyut (L) (lost replay)
KisDaGround (DQ) vs. Edu (W) (no game)
Maximillianus (L) vs. Lacion (W)

round 3:
Exe.kyut (L) vs. Edu (W)
Rx.Spider (W) vs. Lacion (L)

Other articles:
September
CGL Season 2 Introduction
CGL Season 2 Tournament Details
CGL Season 2 Opening Tournament Updates and Results
October:
MPGL Cebu Recap
MPGL Cebu 1 Champions Crowned
Getting Ready for ARCHCon2011

Getting Ready for ARCHCon2011

2011-10-15T02:35:00.000+08:00

As promised, only the teams that participated in the Cebu Gaming League opening will compete to qualify for the actual ARCHCon 2011 event.

The qualifiers will be on October 16, 2011 (Sunday) at 10:00 am.

The top 4 of this tournament will be playing in the actual event on October 29, 2011.

To the teams that want to change their team names, just approach me.

Registration for this tournament is free.

MPGL Cebu Champions Crowned

2011-10-10T20:48:00.000+08:00

The Mineski Pro Gaming League Cebu Series has finally come to an end with former Latos players flooding the top 3, and Zeit Geist rewarded the free trip to Manila to participate the upcoming Pinoy Gaming Festival.

left to right: Sid, R2, Arsian, gb, Chibiby!

Champion: It's Pro Time (IPT)

ROSTER:
Michael "gb" Ross- hard carry
Chrisostomo "Chibiby!" Tan Jr.- carry/utility
Sidney "Sid" Ledesma- carry/utility
Jundell "Arsian" Navaja- main support
Rito "r2" Niere- secondary support

One of the two teams that emerged from the Latos disbandment. Ex-Latos players Arsian and Chibiby! decided to form the team a few weeks before MPGL Cebu 1-3. Michael Ross, a retired Mineski player joined in and took the role of captain. Sid and r2 both former Stigma players completed the roster.

Goal: To represent the Philippines.

Future appearances: Smackdown "the Mecca", Pinoy Gaming Festival

left to right: Ninja, Balot, Nivram, Shimaru, LeeVouge, Phoy

1st Runner-up: Zeit Geist (zG)

ROSTER:
(captain) Ron "balot" Losenara- semi-carry
(vice captain) Franz "ninja" Dela Torre- main support
(secretary) Marvin "nivram" Rushton- all-around
(PRO) Algen "shimaru" Escobia- branch support
(Muse) Jr " LeeVouge" Bersabal- carry utility

After MPGL Cebu 1-1, ninja, balot and nivram of team Latos decided to leave the team and form a new one with TNS players shimaru and LeeVouge. This move led to the disbandment of both teams and the creation of an all-star team-up of the best carries and supports in Cebu history.

Goal: To represent the East Coast.
Future appearances: Smackdown "the Mecca", Pinoy Gaming Festival

2nd Runner-up: NotSoSneaky (NSS)

left to right: Saak, Xof, Gravity, Hasii, PaeiJwei, D

ROSTER:
Lloyd "gravity17" Agas- carry/utility
Peter Pax Matthew "xof" Pacana- carry/utility
Don "D" Comaingking- carry/utility
Gama Rae "paeiJwei" Comaingking- support
Wilfred "hasii" Talamban- support
Chrys "SaakIsShit" Suico- support

A few days before MPGL Cebu 1-3, GOLS TC pub players decided to form a team for the tournament. The team name "NotSoSneaky" came from the fact that half of the team: D, paeiJwei and xof came from team Sneaky (which was previously unofficially known as Latos 2). The three remaining players, captain gravity17 (former Exellon), hasii and saak (both from Synchronized Gaming) completed the
roster.

Goal: To represent Cebu.

Future appearances: ARCHon DotA tournament

Unofficial computation of the final standing:
Zeit Geist (zG) - 65 pts. /+25
Exellon - 50 pts. / +10
It's Pro Time (iPT) - 38 pts. /+18
Barney - 32 pts. / +10
Stigma - 30 pts./ +12
NotSoSneaky (NSS)- 25 pts./ +15
Team Back Up (TBu)- 20 pts. /+8
Thumbs Down - 10 pts.
Point Click Kill (PCK)- 10 pts./+4
Fanboys (fB)- 8 pts.
Nemesis - 8 pts.

Good luck to all teams flying to Manila or wherever else they plan to in the succeeding weeks.

Mineski Professional Gaming League Cebu recap

2011-10-09T01:50:00.002+08:00

Earlier this June, Mineski created a big opportunity for Cebuano gaming by opening a Mineski Infinity cyber cafe in Talamban.

image courtesy of Mineski.net

This is just a little recap for those that have been living under a rock (or those that have just been aware of the Cebu DotA competitive scene).

The MIOT (Mineski Infinity Opening Tournament), held last June 25, 2011 was, by far, the biggest tournament in local history, gathering 72 teams all over Cebu (with the exception of Latos, the reigning Cebu DotA team back then).

The tournament had no registration fee, the top 3 teams received medals and Mineski gear; while the tournament champion received a free trip to Manila (along with Latos) to participate in the MPGL (Mineski Professional Gaming League) tournament the following month. After 2 days of grueling matches, Stigma was crowned champion.

Latos and Stigma players in MPGL 3-6 (Manila)

The following month, July, Stigma and Latos participated in MPGL 3-6. They played good games but unfortunately didn't make it to the Top 8. After MPGL 3-6, Mineski Infinity owner, Raymond Tambis, wanted local players to get exposure to Manila players and teams.

To those that don't know, Manila is not only the capital of the Philippines but also the capital and pioneer of Philippine E-Sports.

With the vision of improving provincial gaming in mind, Mineski implemented a series of tournaments in Cebu (that happened every second week of the succeeding months: August, September and October). But who knew this opened the doors to the most volatile and most surprising team swap/disbandment/player changes.

MPGL Cebu 1-1 (August 13-14, 2011) opened with Exellon as the surprising champion. Stigma, the team that drove Latos to the loser's bracket and eventually it's fall to the 4th spot, gained a lot of recognition in that tournament although they only came in second. TNS, the revival of a legendary Cebuano team, came in third.

A few days after the loss of Latos in MPGL Cebu 1, Latos members Ninja, Balot (also known as Kenorange) and Nivram announced that they were leaving Latos to form Zeit Geist (taking TNS points but disbanding the said team). But Latos and TNS weren't the only ones with roster changes, Exellon and Stigma (due to one reason or another, which would be too much of a hassle to discuss in detail) did too.

Because of the roster changes in the top teams, team Kabu was formed (with players that were formerly from Exellon, Stigma and Latos).

MPGL Cebu 1-2 (September 10-11, 2011) was by far the most scorching tournament. Grudge matches from teams with former teammates were all the rage. The shout casting was almost as emotional as the players themselves who formed some of the teams at the last minute. But the disbandment of Latos was not in vain, team Zeit Geist (champion) tied the top score with Exellon (previous champion). Stigma, unfortunately, didn't make it past the group stage and Kabu still managed to hold unto the 4th spot despite player problems.

Zeit Geist (TnS) - 40 pts. / + 25
Exellon - 40 pts. / + 15
Barney - 22 pts. / + 18
Kabu - 20 pts. / + 8
Stigma - 18 pts.
Team Back Up - 12 pts. / + 12
Thumbs Down - 10 pts. / + 10
Synchronized - 10 pts.
Nemesis - 8 pts.
Harss - 6 pts. / + 6
Point Click Kill - 6 pts.
DnMd - 4 pts. / + 4

MPGL Cebu 1-3 (October 8-9, 2011) is definitely a tournament to watch out for.

With the teams changing players again, how will they fair at this extremely competitive stage?

For live updates refer to this link.

GOLS Shirt redesigned

2011-10-04T01:26:00.003+08:00

Because of the high demand from Cebu DotA players, I redesigned the shirt and removed the "PLAYER" word to accommodate spectator buyers.

Due to the fact that only 10 teams joined the tournament, and the shirt design is colored, the price is set at Php220.00. Unfortunately no reservations will be entertained, and only those who pay get the shirts.

The teams mentioned in the shirt will automatically get reserved slots in all GameVolution Inc. DotA tournaments for this season.

ARCHCon qualifying tournament date will be announced later.

For orders and inquiries, just contact 09227237986 (PaeiJwei)
Or leave your contact number, shirt size and payment at the GOLS TC counter.

CGL Season 2 Opening Tournament Results

2011-09-24T12:49:00.027+08:00

To all the teams who registered for the CGL Opening Tournament, see you at the ARCHCon qualifiers on October.

Registration is free for the teams who participated for this tournament.

NEWBLOOD BRACKET:

click to enlarge

Replays: Newblood bracket
Edu vs. KisDaGround
KisDaGround vs. Exe.kyut
Maximilianus vs. Rx.Spider
Edu vs. Rx.Spider
Maximilianus vs. KisDaGround
KisDaGround vs. Rx.Spider

Champion (newblood): Team eDu

click to enlarge

Replays: Top 8
Lacion vs. Barney
Zeit Geist s. KisDaGround
It's Pro Time vs. Tatang Dream Team!
Lacion vs. KisDaGround
Tatang Dream Team! vs. Barney
It's Pro Time vs. Zeit Geist
Edu vs. It's Pro Time
Edu vs. Lacion
Lacion vs. Barney
zG vs. Barney

Semi-finals: Tatang Dream Team vs. Zeit Geist
Finals: Zeit Geist vs. It's Pro Time round 1, Zeit Geist vs. It's Pro Time round 2

Champion (over-all): Zeit Geist

CGL Season 2 Tournament Details

2011-09-21T19:28:00.004+08:00

CGL Season 2 Opening Tournament Shirt (exclusively for PLAYERS, no spectator shirts will be sold)

Open to all Newbloods, Uprising and Professional teams.
Venue: GOLS Talamban (across University of San Carlos Technological Center)
Contact: 09224883154 (Gravity) or 09227237986 (PaeiJwei)
Date: September 24-25, 2011

Deadline of Registration (on September 24, 2011):

Newblood teams- until 11:00am only (or until all 8 slots are filled)

Uprising teams- until 1:00pm only (or until all 8 slots are filled)

Professional teams- until 3:00pm (or until all 16 slots are filled)

- No reservation will be entertained.

- Only teams that pay in FULL are considered registered.

- Late registrants for any bracket will be automatically put in the PRO bracket for easier scheduling

- Each team may only register 5 players. No player should play in 2 teams for the duration of the tournament (even if their team has already dropped out of the tournament).

Day 1:

tentative schedule (subject to changes, should the tournament be disrupted by power outage or lack of teams)

12:00nn -1:30pm: round 1 of Newblood bracket
2:00pm- 3:30pm: round 2 of Newblood bracket, round 1 of Uprising bracket
4:00pm- 5:30pm: round 3 of Newblood bracket, round 2 of Uprising bracket, round 1 of Professional bracket
*the time may vary due to availability of the teams. Each team is required to leave their cellphone number for smooth tournament transition

Top 3 teams of the Newblood bracket,

Top 5 teams of the Uprising bracket,

Top 8 teams of the Professional bracket
will all proceed to Day 2

Champions of all brackets will receive secret prizes.

All participants of CGL Season 2 may join the qualifiers for ARCHCon on October.

Day 2:

All matches will start at 12:00nn (any unsettled matches should be completed before 11:00am)

Prizes:

P9,000.00- over-all champion

P4,500.00- 1st runner-up

P2,300.00- 2nd runner-up

Mr. Ronald Lim himself will talk to the champions of the tournament and offer incentive

For concerns, inquiries and stuff, consult (or wallpost) GOLS TC tournament Facebook page or PaeiJwei

Cebu Gaming League Season 2

2011-09-20T05:28:00.004+08:00

The much-anticipated Cebu Gaming League Season 2 opens on September 24, 2011. It will be held in GOLS Internet Cafe Talamban, right across the University of San Carlos Technological Center.

New season. New organization. New rules. New look.

GAMEVOLUTION INC.

Primarily consisting of Starcraft 2 players (mostly from team Cube), Gamevolution is a new Cebu-based E-Sports organization that aims to promote professional gaming in our community.

Last September 15, 2011, Cebu Gaming League has agreed to merge with GVI and handle the DotA division of Gamevolution. GVI will make its debut in the ARCHon (https://www.facebook.com/ARCHCon.Cebu?ref=ts) with a lot of surprises in store for Cebu players.

The qualifiers for the ARCHon DotA tournament will be held at GOLS Talamban a week before the actual convention on October 29, 2011. The top 4 teams that make it through the qualifiers will get to compete in the ARCHCon venue in front of DotA enthusiasts and spectators.

Prizes and freebies will be announced once finalized.

CEBU GAMING LEAGUE OPENING TOURNAMENT

There will be a P1,350.00 registration fee for all teams.
The registration fee covers:
- 5 player shirts
- cash prizes and freebies

Prizes (for 24 registered teams):
Over-all:
P9,000.00- champion
P4,500.00- 1st runner-up
P2,300.00- 2nd runner-up

Additional secret prizes:

Newblood bracket champion

Uprising bracket champion

Professional bracket champion

Every team that registers automatically gets one (1) point (which is needed to register for the ARCHCon qualifying tournament). Only teams that participate in CGL Season 2 Opening will play for the ARCHCon qualifiers on October.