Smart Omega Esports captured the first-ever Wild Rift Asia Brawl championship via a 4-2 victory over Filipino squad Nexplay Esports, Sunday evening.
Gerald “Taymlaps” Bermundo and Jaiby “JLC” Paglingayen joined hands in Game Six to steer Omega to the crown.
Taymlaps registered six kills and eight assists laced with just one death playing Ezreal while JLC – who is considered as one of the strongest top laners during the glory days of League of Legends – backstopped his carry with six kills, two deaths, and three assists playing Akali.
“This is just the preseason to the tournament proper but now we are able to gauge how strong the competition is in Asia,” said Omega Chief Gaming Officer Miko Cuartero.
With Omega Esports looking to secure the Infernal Dragon in the four-minute mark of the match, Nexplay Esports decided to contest the Smart-backed squad at the bottom riverside.
JLC then opened things up for Omega, taking down Jazzfer Dave “Dizastr” Villahermosa (Jarvan) to push the Nexplay contingent out of the Dragon pit. This allowed John Lloyd “Impressive” Dela Cruz (Shyvana) to secure the Infernal Dragon as the rest of his teammates chased Nexplay away.
Impressive caught an escaping Aaron Mark “Chuley” Bingay (Ahri) while JLC took care of Jovannie Artajo “Ooozee” Colong (Draven) and Miguel Vincent “Arisen” Pison (Malphite) for the double kill – tipping the scales to Omega Esports’ side as early as the 4:34-minute mark of the match.
Omega Esports did not let go of their lead from there, ending the 17-5 Game Six stomp at exactly 15 minutes to secure the title in the best-of-seven all-Filipino grand finals.
Omega team captain Ronel “Stronger” Tan dished out a game-high 16 assists. Impressive added a clean 3-0-6 line while Arise had two kills, two deaths, and nine assists.
Nexplay Esports jungler Justine Ritchie “Juschie” Tan (Wukong) was the lone bright spot for the runners up with three kills, two deaths, and an assist while Oooze was held to just two assists and three deaths.
Omega Esports took home US$800 while Nexplay Esports bagged US$500 in the 16-team tournament organized by Riot Games, the makers of League of Legends.
“Our country is looking to be a strong contender in the Wild Rift circuit. With two of the four Filipino teams in the grand finals, we are off to a good start,” added Cuartero.
Omega Esports finished with a 2-1 record in Group A to qualify for the quarterfinals. There, they booted out South Korea’s 16-Bit Gear through a 2-0 sweep while also relegating Nexplay to the lower bracket via a 2-1 semifinal victory.
The squad then survived a 2-1 thriller over Thailand’s Chakaimook to set the all-Filipino faceoff against Nexplay Esports in the grand finals.
Other Filipino squads who qualified for the playoffs were the Globe-backed Liyab Esports, DR Esports, and OneSnap Esports. DR, who finished the group stages with a 3-0 record in Group C, and Liyab dropped to the losers’ bracket where they lost to Bigetron Infinity and 16-Bit Gear, respectively.
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