LAST OCTOBER 3 and 4, Loyola Gaming (LG) Blaze’s blistering start to the tournament saw them finish in the top two of the 2020 Cyberathlete Valorant Collegiate Invitational (CVCI) Philippine Qualifier tournament. Despite falling to the De La Salle University (DLSU) Viridis Arcus Esports in the championship round, 1-2, LG Blaze’s first runner-up finish was enough to secure them a spot in the CVCI for Southeast Asia (SEA) tournament’s regional level.

Following a do-or-die double elimination format, the CVCI Philippine Qualifiers featured an upper and lower bracket, with the grand finals pitting the winners from both brackets in a best-of-three title series.

After a bye in the first round, LG Blaze immediately stamped their class in the tournament after dominating DLSU, 13-6, in their second round meeting. The win proved crucial later on as it propelled LG Blaze to the upper bracket semi-finals while relegating DLSU to the lower bracket.

In the semis, LG Blaze faced a relatively unknown Far Eastern University (FEU) iTamaraw Esports that was bolstered by several semi-professional esports players. Because of their unfamiliarity with the opponents’ play, LG Blaze had to grind out a tough win, 13-11, to reach the upper bracket finals.

With familiar foe University of Santo Tomas (UST) Teletigers standing in their way, LG Blaze effectively schemed against UST’s best players in the upper bracket finals. The team’s familiarity with UST’s style of play allowed them to steamroll past the Teletigers, 13-7, to ensure a top two finish and qualify for the regional level of the CVCI for SEA tournament.

Facing a resilient DLSU in the grand finals, LG Blaze was confident in defeating their rivals after stumping them in the earlier round. Game one’s result further boosted LG Blaze’s conviction as they decimated DLSU, 13-3. However, the Blue and White struggled after DLSU selected Split—LG Blaze’s weakest map—for game two, allowing DLSU to even the series with an 8-13 loss.

With momentum shifting to their side, DLSU capitalized on their near-perfect play execution to finish off LG Blaze in game three, 8-13, to snatch the top prize back in the CVCI Philippine Qualifiers.

Despite the loss, LG Blaze Team Manager Patrick Lanuza did not ruminate in defeat as LG Blaze accomplished their goal of securing a spot in the CVCI for SEA regional round. “We secured the spot na as Philippine representatives [to the regional level], so we didn’t really worry too much about the grand finals,” said Lanuza.LG Blaze is set to begin their regional campaign against Indonesia’s Mralt Esports on October 17, at 7:30 PM. Fans can stream the match on either https://www.facebook.com/Ligagame/ or https://www.facebook.com/CyberathleteO.