Champion Spotlight: Teletigers ML Team; Thomasians Represent Philippines in SEA Campus Esports Stage

A few months ago a financial management major, architecture major, mechanical engineering major, accountancy major and a cello major met through video games and formed a team. On September 6, they’ll be representing the Philippines in the Southeast Asian esports stage with a half a million pesos worth of prizes.

The Teletigers Esports Club is an independent effort of UST alumnus, Theo Ignacio. In his undergraduate heyday, the Teletigers started to earn back-to-back-to-back campus championships in League of Legends. Now, they’re beginning to carve the same legacy for Mobile Legends.

“To be honest, I didn't expect to win the National Cup. In fact, I was nervous at first knowing that there are so many strong and competitive teams out there who will be competing against us,” Odysseus “Raz.” Urbi recalls. The architecture undergrad is the only member who played Mobile Legends ever since. A constant dean's lister and a Membership Director for Area B of United Architects of the Philippines Students Auxilliary (UAPSA) National, he turned to mobile games to de-stress in his go-getter lifestyle.

His other teammates came from League of Legends. 

Lee “Firis.” Cutero was one of the pioneers of the Teletigers ML team. The mechanical engineering major sees esports as his extracurricular activity. “I did not expect to win the National Cup. I think it shows that playing online games as a student is also an investment in a future career rather than being seen only as a pastime or even a waste of time.”

Jerome “-[A]venger.” Escalante started as a sub carry in the Teletigers ML roster but proved to be a force to be reckoned with. The accountancy major sees campus tournaments as a positive force in his student life. “[Campus tournaments] makes you a disciplined student.”

John “Dane” Mendoza was actually the top laner of the Teletigers League of Legends team last year. He represented the Philippines in the international campus meet, 2019 IEF China. The qualifiers were also hosted by AcadArena. Being a music scholar, he transitioned to mobile games to balance his recitals and esports dreams.

Laurence “Rency” Estrada, a former volleyball varsity player in high school, says his experience in AcadArena has truly been one of the best experiences in his life. “It’s been a hell of a run. I think that campus tournaments are a great way to get people in other universities to get connected with other people.”

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PVP Esports partnered with AcadArena to host the official Philippine campus qualifier for their history of service and work with universities and colleges. The games will be broadcasted on September 6 starting 3:00 PM on the AcadArena Facebook page. 

The Teletigers is a member of the AcadArena Alliance Program-- a student org support system that empowers student initiatives through resource and training. Your school can also apply here.