The Story of Team Philippines and their Overwatch World Cup 2019 Run
Such a small scene making a big thing happen, from a Head Coach’s perspective.
June 2019- Committee Building:
When I first saw the format for the Overwatch World Cup 2019, I made a post on how we could “technically” get into the World Cup but scoffed at the idea of it happening. Having to fund the whole thing- travel and accommodation the most glaring aspects- was a pipe dream for a country that hasn’t been in the World Cup since 2016. The Philippines missed out the past 2 years prior as it couldn’t reach the top of the country SR leader boards- how would this year be any different? The country wasn’t ready for this level of competition, but fast forward to this year’s BlizzCon, it wanted to make it happen.
After numerous messages and prods from the community after an external spread of awareness, I finally relented and agreed to run for a committee position. Considering which position did what, I decided to run for Head Coach as I believed that no one would run for it. This decision wasn’t based on a fear of competition- rather the knowledge that no one was willing to take this responsibility up. Those who could take the reigns either were not willing or wanted to play instead and with a more casual community, it was an in-game task deemed too difficult. A World Cup team needs each of the 3 positions with at least 1 candidate to vote for, else they are deemed ineligible and be disqualified. The community respected and endorsed my decision, and from there, candidates for the position of General Manager and Community Lead followed suit and applied for endorsements.
Thanks to my history of working with top Philippine teams in both managerial and coaching conditions alongside casting and community endeavors, I received enough endorsements to be the lone Head Coach candidate for the Philippines. In the other positions, I was glad to see 3 candidates each move on to the voting phase. To help the community out after seeing the voting process turn into a popularity contest, I decided to host an open forum with Fascinate for both the General Manager candidates and the Community Lead candidates to talk about their platforms and expose themselves to the community. It was a great success that led to the voting of candidates that had clear plans, ties to potential sponsors, and the expertise to handle matters outside the game. Our committee was formed by this point, with Mika Fabella as our General Manager, Camie Tafalla as our Community Lead, and I was the Head Coach for Team Philippines.
July 2019- Tryouts:
With our core formed and channels of communication open, the girls worked on securing a sponsor for the team as early as possible. In the meantime, I was thrust into the in-game workings of the team- it was time for the tryouts. Initial plans for the tryouts were to restrict a Grandmaster rank for the latest season then, but combing through the remaining community would make it impossible for there to be enough candidates. Instead, this was lowered to a Masters rank restriction. To add incentive for veteran pro players to come back and try out, any Filipino player that reached Grandmaster ever in their career was also allowed into the pool. By the end of tryout registration, 19 candidates were filtered to be eligible.
Tryouts were held over 2 weekends- with each Day and Session having specific assignments for every individual based on their availability. Every 2-hour session had a different setup, the first of which had 6 candidates facing off a “Junior Squad” composed of underage pub stars who could not try out but held high ranks and skill. The 2nd session was the “Tryout Shuffle”, where 12 tryouts fought with and against each other, and team rosters were moved around accordingly every single game. Beyond the 2 mainstays, there was also a special “External Session” for 6 volunteers to have extra playtime and credit. The opponent was a team I handle, and I fully disclosed to the tryouts that there were also candidates on the other side and that only the volunteer progress was tracked. Finally, there was also the specific “Tryout Set”, where teams were set throughout the whole session with no swaps- the first team had members who were very familiar with each other and the 2nd team had members who showed high potential through the first week but were not accustomed to playing with one another. The point of this session was to show that things needed changing, that it cannot be just a pick up of a system that has been in place, and that new blood that was deserving should be given a chance.
With tryouts having different systems in-game, there was also a system of feedback in place. Players were given a set of questions to answer after every tryout date, on their game, their matches, and their fellow tryouts’ play. In the spirit of fairness due to my previous connections and to gauge individual game IQ, I refused to provide external coaching to any of the candidates during the first phase of tryouts. I wanted to see what they can do on their prerogative as there were numerous resources and chances available to them. This was the World Cup- only the best of the best per country deserved to be in, and those who had that extra effort or knowledge would show their advantage among their peers. Instead, I used all of the feedback given to me by both the players and coaching volunteers alongside their communications in-game in my private VOD re-watches after the tryout period was over. By then, I found my 12 (4 Tanks, 4 DPS, 4 Supports) who stood out the most and would be given a 2nd chance to make it to the top 7.
Unfortunately, that 2nd chance never came to pass in the way I envisioned it. Filtering from the top 12 to top 7 would have been a private affair- having sets of players scrim real teams from the region, ala the “External Session”. It would also be when I would step in as these would simulate the real scrim experience for the candidates- to experience being a part of the final roster of Team Philippines. Eligibility, unfortunately, became the biggest problem, as Blizzard finally informed the committee that players without valid documents of Filipino Citizenship or Permanent Residency were the only ways to play for Team PH. This was a question ever since the tryouts registration period started, but we only got an official word by near the deadline of Top 12 submissions. The players based abroad who had Filipino descent and previously had dual citizenship no longer had their Filipino citizenship by that point, due to legal issues about dual citizenship by the age of 18. They also could not secure interviews for citizenship till the end of the next month past the deadline point, and coupled with a pair of issues related to the Terms of Service, 3 of the initial 12 were disqualified. It was a very unfortunate moment as they brought a lot of competition for their positions, but deadlines had to be met for the roster to be able to still compete.
Now with only 9 real candidates to choose from, a DPS candidate also decided to drop out of the running citing personal issues, and it was a heartbreaking scene as they not only impressed but also showed a lot of growth in-game. This now meant that there were only 8 candidates left- with DPS automatically filled with the remaining 3 candidates (as the initial goal of the team was to have a DPS specialist for a proper 7 man rotation), and Supports slotted to 2. Off-tank was also filled by our most experienced candidate, and the only spot for competition became the Main Tank department. This was the only aspect that had a semblance of the 2nd phase to the top 7- both candidates were given opportunities to compete for the slot while playing scrims and tournaments with the rest of the roster. The rest of the top 12 was filled with eligible candidates that showed promise but were not skillful enough to make it to the final roster. These candidates honestly had the potential to be good but not enough for this year’s session, and those who have been working hard in honing their skills to be ready for the next one should be in serious consideration in the future.
In the end, I ended up with a team that was very familiar to me. I was proud that they had strong prowess in the tryouts to show they were the best of the best in the country willing to represent it, but the whole point of the tryouts was to see if there would be any new additions to show off more of the Philippine scene. I never once regretted having these players on my roster, but I wish I was given a chance to choose all of the team’s final 7 over situations making it so. Competition leads to doing as best as one can, and I wanted to see how each player could push each other to their limits.
Aug 2019- Starting Team Efforts and Sponsorship:
Fascinate (Main Tank), Grandeesauto (Off Tank), Billy (Flex DPS), Redux (DPS), XNS (DPS), Jorun (Main Support), and Rebirth (Off Support)- all of these guys have played with one another during the Miraculum-MMK days of the previous 2 years. It was a family coming back together in Overwatch, as we had disbanded a few months prior as life and other opportunities came. Grand had experience from playing with FES in Contenders Pacific, being the first Filipino player to reach Contenders from OD in the Pacific region. Fascinate had a stint of working with the same team as well as a substitute, gaining valuable knowledge and insights. In the meantime, Billy, Redux, and Rebirth were still in the grind, proving more and more of their worth in-game, and were valuable current players. In the meantime, while XNS and Jorun came back from retirement, they both showed they still had something to offer and were willing to put in the extra effort to bridge the gap to the patch and round off anything and everything the team needed. The first session with the team, the first agenda was to gauge how seriously everyone was gonna take this- it had to be clear that the goal was to work as hard as possible to show that the Philippines can compete at a global stage and everyone had to have that same mindset from the very start.
Work ethic and productivity started strong with the internal announcement that Bren Esports had picked up the team and would sponsor its flight and accommodations to BlizzCon. It was an amazing job done by my fellow committee members, and I honestly believe that without them on the team it wouldn’t have been such a sure and quick thing. This was such a big boost to the confidence of the team with no external issues getting in our way, we proceeded with a familiar setup of having weekday nights for single blocks sessions to get going, pre-scrim and post-scrim sessions to teach old and new setups alike, and a VOD review session at least once a week to congregate everything done. It felt like everyone was looking to take it to the next level and keeping a constructive attitude on how to take things, but the performance was stagnating after a few sessions and it was time to make some changes.
While working with the players in their initial setup, I was also filtering and trying out candidates from the coaching committee for official positions of Assistant Coaches. In the end, 2 came to the forefront- Lex and AGO, both candidates from the US. They had experience in both coaching in the NA scene as well as high-tier play and were assigned to Macro and Micro focused efforts respectively. During their first official sessions, they looked to go back to Square 1 and work on fundamentals of communication- it worked very well for the team. The team was grounded to relearn and properly work on their systems, and it quickly panned out to positive results. Different experimentation with compositions and theory crafting also became the norm to mixed results. I allowed these 2 Assistant Coaches to have the lead in sessions they were available- it was difficult to have them all the time as it was barely sunrise in their timezone when it was time to work, so it was better to see what they could bring to the table, and just adjust the team when the Assistant Coaches were unavailable to a more comfortable setup to find that balance between proper and familiar. It was a slow and steady push, and I felt myself go back to my natural coaching role as player-focused (looking at the individual’s strengths and weaknesses over the meta) while they were there. Alongside the Assistant Coaches, there was also a support staff in place, where coaching volunteers provided analytics, compositions, and feedback in meetings and scrims.
Overall, the first month of Team Philippines was hardworking, yet easy-going. There was still a lot of time before the World Cup- there was still time to experiment and rebuild fundamentals over honing specific setups. Different voices all had a chance to speak and pitch in, as every door was an opportunity for the team. The schedule wasn’t very tight, but still ahead of the curb in terms of practice as the players had no other game obligations compared to the other World Cup teams. Still, though, issues such as bridging the skill to a higher level, comfort compositions and plays, and overall team strength were issues, and that underdog status kept the team checked in reality throughout the whole journey.
Sept 2019- Internal Focus and the SEA Invitational:
The practice kept getting tougher and tougher for the team as the schedule got even more intense. By this point in time, double blocks (2 2-hour scrim sessions) started becoming more of the norm, and things were becoming more and more internalized to the core. The Assistant Coaches became less and less available due to their schooling and team commitments, and I was back to taking the reigns constantly within the scrims. Coaching volunteers helped send different resources to read and work on, but it became time to delve deeper and make final decisions for the team. By this point, the team still wanted to try out different styles of play per week, looking to integrate Dive and Siege in certain maps alongside Double Barrier and playing a 3-DPS rotation between XNS (Projectile), Billy (Flex), and Redux (Hitscan). During this experimental period, we were surprised by an announcement in the works- the SEA Invitational.
Team Philippines was originally not going to participate in the SEA Invitational, as numerous conflicts of schedule would prevent the team from being available. We were one of the last to be informed of the tournament, and many had prior commitments on the dates. Also, as the team was securely sponsored by this point in time, many other teams needed the grand prize of airfare sponsorship more than us. By this point in time, we were also starting to use the Bren Esports HQ as a boot camp for the team, as they provided us with numerous areas to work in during their sponsorship. At the last minute, however, the team was able to pull through in the most awkward ways: playing not in the boot camp together but in setups away from each other and also away from home- in computer shops nearby to their locations. This was not ideal especially against our first match-up Thailand- who had the biggest scene in the region and was needing every bit of support they could get. The motivations and the match-up proved to be our undoing and showed the lack of readiness the team had. The playing situation was no excuse- we played poorly and showed life way too late in King’s Row when we could have made the match more competitive earlier. This was the epiphany the team needed- time to make decisions, hunker down, work on what’s best, and get smarter to become better.
The week immediately after the SEA Invitational, I made decisions to fully focus the team and narrow down our choices to only the best ones we could do. I made the gamble to commit to the Mei/Reaper (with Billy & Redux) Double Barrier strategy, and this became our bread and butter. The team lacked the aggression to play the Doomfist/Reaper setup, and rotating the 3 DPS did more harm than good. Sessions were dedicated to this composition alongside the Pharah/Reaper and the Bastion-Baptiste set up and became the pillars of our playbook. All other strategies were only played once a week, to refresh the team on how to play it out if needed and to know how to play against the strategy from a player’s perspective. This focus immensely improved the team’s play in scrims and allowed decision making to be more focused and leading to set strategies, movements, and maps. The team also decided to focus on specific maps that would be played earlier in the World Cup over anything else, to make sure the decisions were sound in battlefields feasible to our team’s strengths.
Beyond in-game adjustments, there were also multiple changes beyond the practice sessions. Pre-scrims and post-scrims were always a requirement in every single session, causing call time to become earlier and end time to be later. Boot camp attendance became mandatory over necessity, as I noticed that the team played better when they were together over online. Every single scrim we had to bring our A-game from the get-go, so players were to warm up beforehand as well to prevent any slow starts and wasted maps. Finally, with XNS’s heroes phased out of the rotation, it was time to work on a different role for our 7th player- to be available for any potential roles that may need filling. These hard decisions were not my comfort zone and I felt a lot of growth laying down the law and deciding each of these steps for the team to do better. Being the Head Coach meant that I could not just look to make any suggestion work, but also be able to show properly what works best for the team but also shoot down opinions that would not fall in line with the system we’re good at. I had no replacements nor was I willing to quit or give up on the team so instead, I looked to show off what’s best in them to themselves and the rest of the world. It’s a tough stage already, and showing it to the world made it even tougher.
Early Oct 2019- Last Pushes and Casualties:
Things were looking bright for the team: the patch to be used in the World Cup allowed our strategies to work better than before, and we had the head start on other teams, the practice system and attendance were excellent as we were pushing it to normal double and triple blocks, communication systems were stable and set, set plays and positions were being refined, and we had the full support of our sponsor guaranteed. We were doing better in scrims and were also pushing enemy teams to tougher heights.
It wasn’t all good though, as a crutch was being formed on the team. Times were the team looked so lost in what to do and how to adjust, I had to personally step in mid-scrim to make the decisions for them. To guide the team through what to change (without divulging private enemy information) in terms of composition, movement, and ult economy to make sure they were able to compete. This struggle for in-game IQ reared its ugly head in this way, and I resisted the urge as much as possible to step in, but there were times where it was necessary just to get the scrim back on track. VOD Reviews and post-game sessions were dedicated to working on this major problem within the team, to make sure they wouldn’t get lost within the already narrow focus we had set up. It was always a problem within the roster, to begin with, but each player was looking to step up and put in more and more effort to communicate as well as learn from multiple game sources to become smarter in-game. The individual efforts were there, but the results were hit or miss.
It was also at this last push, when things were mostly positive that the most tragic occurrence of Team PH unfolded- due to very severe personal issues, Rebirth could not go with us to BlizzCon. He had been one of the biggest foundations of in-game knowledge for the team, having solid suggestions in-game after working with multiple players around the region. He also had immense expertise in the multiple heroes our compositions played. We had known from the very start that this was a possibility but he was able to not only fulfill all media and visa obligations but also worked one of the hardest among the team to make the system better. Also, due to the occurrences of the initial top 12, there were no capable replacements for him during the tryout period and as such he was picked despite this risk. He was truly decided and looked like he was good to go throughout our practice periods provided that he was not advertised like the rest of the team. As we were fully transparent with one another, the team already had a Plan B in motion since the month prior- as XNS was able to dedicate time to flex and fill, he was tasked and took extra time to work with Rebirth in the Off-Support role.
Beyond our preparations though, Team Philippines also found a way to give back to the community before we left for the US. It was always a dream to host a LAN tournament ever since Heroes Uprising 2017, and with the support and funding of Bren Esports, we were able to make it happen. Working together with Nostrax Elite, the # LabanPinas Tournament was a last-minute endeavor that allowed us to show our appreciation. It was great to see familiar voices be given faces and to meet others in the same location. Sadly I was personally occupied with the broadcast at a location near the venue to interact with everyone the way I wanted to, but it was fun to get a tournament going before anything else. For better or for worse, Team Philippines would have never have happened without the community.
Late Oct 2019- Anaheim Time:
It all led up to this. Hopping onto that plane and making the trip to the USA was the moment where I realized, “This is what we worked for.” This was no vacation for us till the end of our World Cup journey, and we were gonna make sure that we didn’t waste our opportunities. We arrived in Anaheim on the weekend before Blizzcon 2019, and as we settled in we made plans throughout the week to make sure our time was productive.
The team was able to not only partner up with a practice location (Digi Skope, a net cafe in Huntington Beach) thanks to our friends from Team Singapore, but also had scrims set up against top-tier teams from the latest season of Rivalcade during our stay in NA. It was a whole new experience for the players to play in the region with proper latency, and the first day was dedicated to warming back up after a long flight, getting on the ladder, and grinding till dark. In the next 2 days, we had our usual setups- with a pre-scrim and a post-scrim between our scrim block session, and grinding and playing till it was dark. These sessions were very productive and not too taxing on the players, as it was the last push to make sure we were ready instead of forcing extra sessions that could have been detrimental to their health. The day before the tech rehearsal, we finally had time to unwind and collectively paid out of our pockets to go to Disneyland, really cementing our team turning into a family along the way.
The 30th of October came and it was the first time the gates of Anaheim Convention Center opened up to us. We retrieved our passes and were given the rundown among the other teams- and did the toughness of the competition show. There were giants of the Overwatch scenes among us, and it felt amazing to be competing on the same stage as them. Sure, we weren’t as good as them and were a complete underdog at the bottom of the power rankings, but we were in the same place, at the same time, competing for the same thing and anything could have happened. As we got home, we had a final rundown using the TV- making sure we had the tenants of our strategies and map movements run down, our potential swaps and adjustment, and a final check that everyone was ready to go. It was time for the World Cup.
Oct 31, 2019- Team Philippines World Cup 2019:
This day was the big one. We fully expected not to make it past this day, but we were poised to go down swinging and kicking. Everyone woke up raring to go and headed over promptly to the Anaheim Convention Center. There, we saw the rest of the teams with a similar schedule as us talking and preparing, looking to get ready to go. There was this intensity of competition in the air, and we were a part of it. The guys set up accordingly to the role positions, with players sitting beside other players for specific coordination in compositions. Our match was against Colombia, who funny enough had the same design jersey as us (honestly the colors suited them more than us to begin with). It was time to get going in our knockout best of 5, do or die, all cards on the table.
In all honesty, I was extremely nervous at the start of the match. The setup didn’t allow for the coach to be inside the player booth, but instead, I could come in and out after every single map. Also, the TV screens for the stream were not all set up, and the match-ups that were shown on the open ones weren’t our match-up. We had to make do with the data on Camie’s phone the whole time, and it cut in and out of signal throughout the start of the broadcast. The tension was killing me, and it all got snapped when while we were still watching a part of the first map on Busan, I was called into the player booth and told that we had won our first map.
My heart leaped for joy as I was informed of the victory screen, and it looked like all our plans and plays worked well on the map. Billy on Pharah was getting solid picks and XNS on the Moira showed great strides and sustain. Everyone was feeling confident after this one, and we knew that we were still the underdog- but getting that map! What a feeling to remember and hold on to. We talked about a few notes, especially seeing the D.Va over the Sigma by the 2nd half of Busan, but chalked it up to the potential to counter the Pharah as we knew the D.Va and the Mei were their comfort picks after researching the enemy players.
It was time for map number 2 in Hollywood, and this was when things started to slip bit by bit. Seeing that initial attack, there were moments our Bastion was not set up in the best locations- they used the D.Va to get in our face and we lost our Pharmercy due to the isolated bullying. From there, the rest of the team went to mop us up on the ground with their Mei push, and our Bastion couldn’t escape. Checking the stream and listening with others in the Discord, I was still nervous but a lot less so compared to that first map- we had our map win, and I was so proud that my team was able to compete in the proper form here at the World Cup. It was no wash like the month prior- at an actual competition for the Philippines on a global stage. It wasn’t the highest caliber game as both countries’ scenes weren’t too strong, but we made sure that we were prepared even with a significant skill disadvantage. Halfway into the map, I was called yet again into the booth, this time to a defeat. Keeping a positive attitude, we looked at again what and how they were running their play- and I gave the suggestion to run and adjust to the Doomfist or Sombra to punish their composition accordingly.
Onto map 3 we went to Rialto and it was not a good start to our adjustment- we lost our Doomfist immediately and made a major slip-up that didn’t allow us to defend the first point even though we were poised to be able to fight for it. To the 2nd point, our variance bore fruit by getting picks on a strong corner play. Unfortunately, mistakes in positioning cost us the point and eventually the round, and with the attack starting to go underway I was called yet again to the booth, unable to see what exactly happened.
Now down a map, we were going to our least favorite map of all: Temple of Anubis. Since the very beginning of Team Philippines, we have struggled severely on this map, and it was in the initial map pool for the first round of the World Cup. Things looked tough for us but we pushed through and clutched up a full capture by the end, and it made me so proud that the team was able to get past our weakness and finish things up! It was by this map that I missed out on a crucial aspect of our next round on defense, as I was called in to finally stay in the playing area and I was thrust into the 2nd round on Temple of Anubis underway. I was able to witness them make a solid call defending the 1st point after a sloppy 2nd round attack, and I so happy that we were able to draw it out.
By this point, it’s time to interject what is one of my biggest “what-ifs” in this tournament: what if I was just allowed to stay in the playing booth, to begin with? Missing out on these crucial parts of action hampered my ability to craft strong decisions in our play and our adjustments. We had the mindset that we could do better in a mirror match-up, and it should work in terms of our style. Unfortunately, it was apparent that they had this higher skill threshold than us mechanically, and we were falling flat in that regard. This, however, is no excuse for our loss, as I should only assume it was the same case for the opponent. It just makes me despondent, however, that my reaction after the match was different after being able to watch the VOD in full.
Map 5 came and went like a blur- I was in the booth with the team, but by this point fatigue truly had set in and when we lost a winnable fight at the start of Ilios: Lighthouse, it fell apart by then. On Ruins, the team finally decided to go for the Sombra play, but it was too late and wasn’t coordinated well- the engagement was sloppy into the EMP, and we got picked off earlier on. In the end, though, it was a hard-fought series going all 5 maps, with the PH banner taking one map off. I was still very happy with the result (too overjoyed in retrospect as I didn’t get to see the mistakes we committed as much), and very proud of my team. They worked hard to get there, and we had a small session with the Team Colombia guys and gave them some of our local snacks as well. It turned from serious to all fun immediately, and while the World Cup journey was over for us, we were glad to have been there.
Nov 2019- Post World Cup
By this point, the atmosphere went from a professional team to a group of close friends on vacation almost immediately. While there were still hangovers of defeat, we dealt with it pretty well had a constructive criticism session after on what we could work on better. We also promised each other to enjoy BlizzCon instead but have a team VOD Review session later on the trip once emotions were calm and steady.
The team did just that, as went to BlizzCon 2019 and enjoyed the festivities while fulfilling our final media obligations to Bren Esports. We were able to witness the announcement of Overwatch 2 and playing as a team in both the PvP and PvE areas. We also met numerous World Cup teams and were able to participate in the Flag-waving ceremony on the last day of the World Cup. Waving that Philippine flag showed that the country was raring to go for more and willing to support all of this, that beyond everything there was still a way to unite the community and make things happen for our nation. It wasn’t the most magical run in the tournament- far from it. It didn’t make waves in the local scene nor the media, true. But when one day you ask if the Philippines ever got a team sent over to BlizzCon, especially for the World Cup, that’s a resounding yes- thanks to the community for its support, the sponsors who made things happen, the players who put in the work, and the committee who lead the way. Everyone was a part of this journey, and now it’s time for someone else to take the reigns.
After BlizzCon, we were able to do 2 more productive things as a team-first we had our VOD Review session where I was able to be completely honest in my assessments live and talk about the mistakes we made in the match-up. The team took it in stride and we had the “Burrito of Shame” to throw around every time anyone made a correctable mistake. Our biggest weakness of not having the best in-game IQ when on the battlefield itself cost us the series that was so winnable. It was a great way to unwind but still also take responsibility for our performance, no matter how competitive it was it still lead to a loss. Another thing we were able to accomplish was to head on over for a tour of Blizzard HQ. It was a great way to establish more connections, see where the magic starts, and hopefully lead to more support for our country’s scene.
Closing Remarks:
In terms of suggestions for the next edition of Team PH OWWC, I would say the most important thing for the team is players that have that “big brain”. A high game IQ allows smarter decisions, and the better of a team can be. There needs to be someone who is consistently reliable in that aspect, as it will make the per-fight decision-making clearer, crisper, and better than ever. For PH players living abroad, make sure all your documents are ready to go for next year, as having that extra know-how and skill from different scenes opens up a wide array of possibilities and play. For a coach, having a tougher approach from the very start would be helpful, as long as it doesn’t get in the way of the team’s productivity.
This edition of Team Philippines was built to be a stepping stone, not an endpoint- the scene was not ready for a setup like this, and it showed by the end even with all the work put into it. Now, there’s still a lot of time to work hard and strive to make the PH even better than before, and it will take all of us to do so once again. For me, I would most likely give way to other candidates wanting to take the helm in the committee positions, and would not run for a position unless I am specifically requested again by the community to do so. It’s time for new blood to come and make it happen, and while I believe the format of next year of the World Cup (if it happens at all) will be completely different, we’ll never know and it’s never a waste to do better.
In the end, we came home and settled as close friends yet again, and looking back at all of the things I remembered to make this monster of a year-end write-up, I can still remember all the hard work we put into this journey. All the time spent practicing, traveling, working, learning- all worth it to make sure that the country had a way to show itself. Being a “national team” opens one to the worst of criticism but the fact of the matter is that we made it happen. This was all of us together, not only the people involved but anyone who cared for the Overwatch PH scene. With that, I thank you all for your support, not only to me but also to the game.
External Links:
Team Philippines Tryouts — Full VOD collection
Team Philippines Open Forum — GM and CL Sessions
Team Philippines official Facebook page — Photos and media reference
Team Philippines vs. Team Thailand — SEA Invitational match
Laban Pinas — 2019 Sendoff LAN Tournament
Team Philippines vs. Team Colombia — Overwatch World Cup 2019 Match
Team Philippines vs. Team Colombia — Team Philippines VOD Review
Original Article Link — Facebook Link
