Lean, green, winning machines are Aaron Sablay and DLSU’s Viridis Arcus behind a historic and flawless title conquest.
Worth the hype indeed.
De La Salle University’s Viridis Arcus lived up to its billing as the tournament’s top dog, pulling off 13-5, 13-7 win over UST’s Teletigers in the championship round to rule the inaugural UAAP Esports VALORANT tournament on August 16, Friday at the Hyundai Hall, Arete in Quezon City.
DLSU put on a dazzling display in two remarkable wins over UST moments after pulling off a hard-earned 13-2, 9-13, 13-9 victory against the University of the Philippines in the semifinals.
Meanwhile, UST booked their place in the final thanks to a comfortable 13-6, 13-7 win over host Ateneo de Manila University (ADMU) in the other semifinal bracket.
Third-year Applied Economics student Aaron Sablay took home the Predator Finals MVP plum but lauded the whole team composed of Derrick Ong, Lucas Gruenberg, Miguel Fernando Dy, Gerardo Luis Corpus II, and Lance Elmo Gacayan for a monumental win.
"Obviously masaya but as I said, it's a team game. Everyone in the team played well. I think any given day, any of us could be the MVP because we all played our parts really well," Sablay said.
Trailing 3-2 in the opening game, La Salle regained their stride and claimed eight of the next nine rounds as Sablay’s precise and pin-point marksmanship gave his school an early advantage.
Viridis Arcus would simply not be denied and raced to a much-better 10-4 start in the second game on their way to ruling the eight-team tournament.
Head coach Xavier Juan highlighted their grueling semifinal clash as DLSU’S turning point in the tournament that paved the way for a much cooler and tactical approach in the championship series.
Before dropping the second game in that semis clash, Viridis Arcus did not lose a single match in the group stage.
"It became a lesson learned for us in the finals. In the finals, we were calm and cool. We played good. Our plays worked. They performed well and our communication was good. The semifinal was a lesson learned and we did way better in the finals," Juan spoke.
Meanwhile, John Matthew Cuaresma was named the Chow King Kakaibang Player of the Tournament for UST, who also consist of Damien Joshua Santos, Carl Angelo Baldovia, Nathan Kyle Manuta, Angelo Kyan Ysibido, and Erl Adrik Mariano.
Semifinalists UP and Ateneo secured the bronze to conclude the first-ever collegiate Esports VALORANT event.