Philippines cops esports demo medals in SEA Games

MANILA, Philippines — Filipino esports athletes secured two podium finishes as the 33rd Southeast Asian Games kicked off its esports competitions with demonstration events for Magic Chess: Go Go (MCGG) and Audition.

In Magic Chess: Go Go, duo Rollewis Daniel Ilarde and former MPL head coach John Laurence Ruiz bounced back from a last-place finish in the opening round to climb the leaderboard. The pair surged to the top spot by the penultimate round, only to be eliminated early in Round 5 by Malaysia, which went on to claim victory.

Despite the setback, Ilarde and Ruiz held on to second place ahead of Indonesia, thanks to points earned in earlier rounds.

“Masaya ako na naging part ng [national team]. Kasi naging coach ako ng MPL team, pero hindi kami nag-Sibol dati. Ngayon, sa demosport ng Magic Chess, at last nakapunta ako ng ibang bansa at narepresent ko yung Pilipinas,” said Ruiz.

Meanwhile, in Audition’s Mixed Team Competition, Filipino bets Rodee Mae Maksakit and Dennis Matawaran clinched bronze after defeating Thailand, whose players had previously dominated the individual category. Meanwhile, fellow Philippine representatives Kathleen Mae Ruiz Tiocson and Renzo Dela Cruz fell to eventual champion Vietnam in the quarterfinals.

“For the longest time, walang international event ang Audition. This is the first time and SEA Games pa. Sobrang excited na maka-compete with other countries and yung mga tinitingala naming players. Nakakaproud na narerepresent namin yung Pilipinas sa ganitong event,” said Matawaran.

The esports competition continues Saturday, December 13 with the Men's Mobile Legends; Bang Bang (MLBB) group stages. Sibol hopes to secure its fourth gold medal in the category as it kicked off its campaign against Indonesia at 11:30 a.m. (Manila time).