The Philippines now has a representative in two more esports in the esteemed tournament series.
Last weekend was big for Philippine esports as Alexandre “AK” Laverez and Blacklist International were able to qualify for the Esports World Cup (EWC).
AK was able to qualify by making it to the top eight of Tekken 8 in DreamHack Dallas 2024 while Blacklist made it to Dota 2’s Riyadh Masters through the Southeast Asia closed qualifiers.
This continues AK’s upward trend after he recently won Combo Breaker 2024. AK had to go through an internationally stacked 400-plus-player tournament where everyone had the same goal. He was looking unstoppable until he faced South Korea’s Jae-hyun “CBM” Kim, who knocked him into the losers’ bracket.
There, he had to go up against Tekken veteran Bae “Knee” Jae-Min for one of the remaining EWC spots. It went down to the wire but AK was able to clutch it out with a 2-1 victory over Knee.
Blacklist on the other hand was competing with two other Pinoy teams to make it to Riyadh Masters. With eight participating teams and only two available slots for Southeast Asia, the battle was always going to be fierce.
It was a bad start for Blacklist as they lost 2-0 to Bleed Esports and were sent to the lower bracket. From there they had to claw their way to the finals by taking down IHC Esports, Neon Esports, and fellow Pinoy team TNC Predator. They faced off against Talon Esports in a grindy 2-1 victory to secure their spot at EWC.
The Biggest Stage in Esports
With these victories, AK and Blacklist will be joining Team Liquid and Falcons AP.Bren, who previously qualified for EWC for Mobile Legends. While all four have qualified, they will not all be going to Riyadh at the same time.
There are 20 different esports tournaments being held in the EWC with each starting and ending at different times. Mobile Legends will be kicking off the event starting June 28 with the Mid Season Cup 2024. Dota 2’s Riyadh Masters will start on July 4 and Tekken 8 will be one of the last to start on August 22.
Various qualifiers for EWC tournaments are still ongoing, meaning there’s still a chance for more Pinoy players and teams to make it on the big stage.
Banner photo by bluerosetori.
Related Stories:
AK Breaks His Curse and Takes Tekken 8 at Combo Breaker 2024
Jab Escutin on AP.Bren’s Partnership with Team Falcons
Pinoys Take the Dota 2 and Valorant Crowns in the 2024 Asia Pacific Predator League