Mineski-Overwatch Disbands!
Reasons include ongoing roster issues and a lack of tournaments in the local scene.
Mineski has been reported to have disbanded! Coming straight from the players, Mineski has lost interest in the Overwatch scene. According to team captain Marvin Anthony “whome” Roque, roster issues and a lack of tournaments in the local scene caused the disbandment. Support player Jerahmeel “Jorun” Ibasco adds on this, stating:
Just that the OW scene in the Philippines isn’t big enough at the moment. Also since we haven’t really been all that active the past few months, (so) keeping us wasn’t really in Mineski’s interests right now.
Also, that in the future, they might be interested to form a team again, so just keep at it if we really wanna keep playing Overwatch.
Looking Back at Mineski-Overwatch
The first signing of the Mineski-Overwatch team was announced on August 26, 2016. The team consisted of Jessie “JessieVash” Cuyco, Jholord “Zahrgorp” Galicia, John Carlo “SuperLocs” Panlilio, Zyrille King “ZYRILLE” Algenio, whome, and then captain Justin “Caladbolg” Limbo. The team competed in numerous competitions in the regional scene. The roster was not to last, as at the end of the year Jessievash returned back to Dota 2 to be with HappyFeet. Zahrgorp and ZYRILLE also departed the team for unrelated reasons.
The team then added Angelo “Meister” Martinez, Gilbert “Gibo” Sales, and Jorun. For the first half of the year of 2017, they participated in the Overwatch Open Division Season 1. The team of Caladbolg, SuperLocs, whome, Meister, Gibo, and Jorun made headway in local competitions, hosted by Mineski Infinity branches and other various entities. Their biggest triumph came at the Heroes Uprising 2017 tournament, where they won the whole tournament and were crowned the champions of the local Philippine scene.
Their greatest triumph ironically led to the start of their downfall. Then captain Caladbolg retired after the tournament, citing a wish to return to his studies. Whome was then thrust into a captain role for the Overwatch Open Division Season 2, where they cycled and tried different players for their empty 6th slot. These pickups include Harry “lioncraft” Lee, Dathan Allan Keanu “Daks” Rosales, and Rjonne “Feint” Ortiz. None of these pickups were permanent, and for the Overwatch Open Division Season 3, Mineski failed to check-into the tournament due to roster issues.
This was the beginning of the end. Roster issues were compounded as Daks moved to Miraculum E-sports Club as an analyst and coach, prioritizing casting over being a player. Meister left the team to join lioncraft in the now-disbanded Thailand team TGK Gaming. On the other hand, Feint helped Mineski in a substitute role, and the team tried to host tryouts for 2 slots on the team. This failed to gain some traction, and the players were demotivated by the end of the year. There were also no local competitions available for Overwatch, and they could not compete in the region without a full roster. The final nail in the coffin for the team was failing to field a full roster for the Overwatch Open Division Season 1 2018 — Pacific Region.
Asking the players what their plans were now, Jorun expressed interest in sticking around Overwatch and is currently looking for a team. Whome is interested in returning to CS:GO, and Superlocs and Gibo have been playing various games in the highest levels. In any case, expect to see their names pop up in the local scene for other games. They would be willing to reform together in Overwatch for local competitions, given the chance and a full roster.
Final Mineski-Overwatch Roster:
· 🇵🇭 Marvin Anthony “whome” Roque — © DPS
· 🇵🇭 John Carlo “SuperLocs” Panlilo — Tank
· 🇵🇭 Jerahmeel “Jorun” Ibasco — Support
· 🇵🇭 Gilbert “Gibo” Sales — Support
Addendum
The official Mineski-Overwatch page has announced the team’s disbandment. The post is as follows:
It is with a heavy heart that we announce that the players of Mineski-Overwatch will no longer be playing as a team.
We wish them all the luck moving forward!
