It's official.
A total of six Liyab bets received the call up to carry the country’s colors in the inaugural esports tussles in the 2019 Southeast Asian Games where at least six gold medals are stake.
In a testament to their skills, Liyab’s whole Arena of Valor squad will banner the country’s bid in one of the most exciting team competitions in esports while Enderr took one of two berths in the StarCraft ll event.
The AoV team, skippered by Kevin “Gambit” Dizon with Jervan “Bents” Delos Santos, Jeremiah “1717” Camarillo, Lawrence “Rubixx” Gatmaitan and Miguel “Miggie” Banaag, topped the final qualification set by the national training pool to earn the right to compete for the inaugural esports medal in the biennial games.
“It’s a dream come true for me and the whole team. If you asked me a few years ago we would compete in the Southeast Asian Games, I would say no right away. But here we are. Hopefully we will not fail the expectations of our “kababayans,” fans and supporters,” an obviously elated Gambit says. Incidentally, Gambit will be the national team captain for AoV.
Joining the AoV squad is Caviar “Enderr” Acampado who will lead the Philippines’ bid in StarCraft ll.
Just like the AoV squad, Enderr reigned supreme in the final scrimmages against other hopefuls to book his appearance in the StarCraft ll event of the SEA Games.
“I’m very happy to represent the country but of course the pressure to perform well is always there. I can feel it as early as now. But then again, I will definitely make the best out of this opportunity,” Enderr adds.
Liyab is the professional esports team of Globe in partnership with Mineski. Globe, for its part, once again reiterates its full support of the team and Enderr as they battle other nations for the historic medals in the biggest sporting event in the region.
“We always believed that Liyab has the potential to make it big in the 2019 Southeast Asian Games. While its a new sport, we believe the national team has a good chance to bring medals to the country. Now that the AoV team and Enderr are officially in the national team, they can fully concentrate on their training and preparations. The real hard work begins for them,” Nikko Acosta, Globe SVP for Content Business Group and Product Management, says.
Mineski, on the other hand, likewise vows to do its part to ensure the boys will be in top fighting form once the competitions begin.
“We all know the pressure that the whole nation is watching you will be so great. But we are confident the boys will do well. We have scheduled several tournaments for them to compete. Hopefully, these events will further toughen their resolve and will to win,” Ronald Robins, CEO of Mineski adds.
As part of their preparations for the SEA Games, the Liyab Arena of Valor team is set to participate in the ESL MSP (Malaysia, Singapore, & Philippines) Championship on September 21-22 where they have a chance to enter the Arena of Valor International Championship (AIC) 2019. This is an international tournament for Arena of Valor that features the best AOV teams around the world. In the ESL MSP Championship, they will be facing teams such as Bren Esports, EurasiaSuperfly Esports and the winners of the Malaysian SEA Games Qualifiers for Arena of Valor, M8Hexa.
Meanwhile, Enderr is gearing up for the 2019 World Electronic Sports Games Southeast Asia Tournament where he emerged as the grand champion last year, besting the likes of Vietnam’s Meomaika and Malaysia’s Ranger.
