IN THEIR first official tournament, the Loyola Gaming (LG) Academy Frost utilized their excellent chemistry to place second in the Esports AcadArena (EAA) Aces Campus Open for Valorant last November 28.
The EAA Aces Campus Open was a single-day tournament that utilized a single-elimination format, with 46 teams participating in a bid for the championship.
LG Academy Terra also represented the Blue and White in the tournament alongside LG Academy Frost. However, after winning their first three matches, LG Academy Terra was booted out of the competition when they fell to the Mapua Gaming Society Spades in the quarterfinals.
Debuting at EAA Aces
While preparing for the tournament, the biggest obstacle for LG Academy Frost was their chemistry as a unit. Although the Blue and White was composed of talented Valorant players, there was a need to translate their individual prowess into a team setting.
In an effort to remedy this, LG Academy Frost worked on their group dynamics for two months before entering the competition. “Over the past two months, our individual skills really got better. Then we just had to fix our chemistry and plays. So when we were able to fix it, we were able to coordinate easily with each other and play [well],” Team Captain Luis “Foxy” Carlos shared.
Their diligence paid off as LG Academy Frost swept the early rounds of the competition to reach the finals with an unblemished 5-0 win-loss record.
Championship match
Facing a seasoned De La Salle-Lipa (DLSL) Ignis squad in the finals, LG Academy Frost was off to a slow start as they lost four quick points to start the match. However, LG Academy Frost stopped the bleeding after scoring their first point in the fifth round.
The rest of the match featured a back-and-forth affair, with both sides trying to gain the upper hand. However, LG Academy Frost’s inexperience and fatigue from the day-long competition finally caught up to them towards the end of the match as they succumbed to DLSL in round 24, 11-13. “Most of us started whiffing at the end, meaning we weren’t hitting our shots anymore, maybe because of fatigue or the pressure,” Carlos admitted.
Building the ranks
Despite falling short of the championship, Carlos is still proud of his team and sees this experience as a stepping stone for their future success. “We all talked about it [after the finals]. After that, it was okay and that it was a learning curve we had to overcome to become a better team,” Carlos shared.
LG Academy Frost and LG Academy Terra are both part of LG’s developmental program that aims to build a sustainable training pool for the organization’s success in esports competitions.
LG Academy Frost lineup:
Luis “Foxy” Carlos
Justine Lee “Wyo” Choy
Jose Fernando “cudd” Verde
Juan Miguel “wameroo” Alcazar
John Michael “Omni” Amador
LG Academy Terra lineup:
Justin “Dippy” Ngkaion
Timmy “LG yabba” Albert
Michael “FleX08” Uy
Matt “Matteo” Brillantes
Dylan “Adlan” Paredes
