RACONTEURPH

Bren Limitless, Dream High Gaming top Juicy Legends Tournament

Top gaming teams Bren Limitless and Dream High Gaming emerged as overall Champions at the first-ever Juicy Legends Tournament which culminated in the iconic Isetann Recto Mall in Manila. The two-month Juicy Legends Tournament, staged by ULVL Gaming and sponsored by ARC Refreshments Corp.’s Juicy Lemon brand, served as an esports battleground for avid gamers of the popular Mobile Legends: Bang Bang.

Bren Limitless took over the Pro Division category and bagged consecutive wins in a best-of-five game against competitor Aether. The team won the coveted trophy and PhP 100, 000 cash prize for championing the Grand Finals. 

Christian Fajura, Bren Limitless’s team captain and also known as Rafflesia, expressed his happiness on behalf of the team for winning the Juicy Legends Tournament. “Masaya ako kasi at least ‘yung effort namin, 'yung mga practice namin gabi-gabi, ay nagkaroon ng bunga (I’m happy because all our efforts, the practices that we did every night, resulted in something great).”

Fajura was also grateful to the people behind the tournament for making it possible. “Thankful kami sa ULVL and Juicy Lemon kasi kung ‘di dahil sa partnership nila, hindi mabubuo itong tournament na ito at wala rin kami rito (We’re thankful for ULVL and Juicy Lemon because without their partnership, this tournament will not be formed and we won’t be where we are now).”

Known as the underdog in tournaments, Dream High Gaming, on the other hand, proved detractors wrong when the team topped the Amateur Division and took home PhP 50, 000. Liquid and Finesse Titans won second and third place, respectively, with PhP 20, 000 and PhP 10, 000 each. 

Allen Baloy, also known as G r e e d of Dream High Gaming, expressed his joy in winning the tournament despite being labeled as the underdogs. According to him, tournaments like this serve as a platform for esports athletes in the country to grow and showcase their skills.

“Sobrang sarap ma-experience na maglaro sa mall tapos maraming tao. Kada laki ng mga tournaments, palaki rin nang palaki ang community. Mas ma-aappreciate ng mga tao ang Mobile Legends not as an addiction, but as a serious and fun sport (It felt really great to experience playing in a mall with an audience. As tournaments grow bigger, the community also grows. More people appreciate that Mobile Legends is not just an addiction, but learn that it is a serious and fun sport),” said Baloy.

Hosts Roadfill from the popular comic duo Moymoy Palaboy and founder of ULVL Gaming, and Kimbee hyped up the event as fans and avid gamers witnessed the battles between teams. Being a gamer since his childhood, Roadfill mentioned that he has always wanted to establish a group that supports egamers in the country.

“Nung nakita kong nagkakaroon na ng spot sa society natin ‘yung gaming, natuwa ako kasi dati parang minamaliit kami. As a gamer myself, marami talaga akong kilala na talagang passionate when it comes to gaming. Nakikita kong malaki talaga ang potential dahil maraming gamers sa Pilipinas. Lalo na ngayon, part na ang Mobile Legends ng SEA Games at narerecognize na rin siya as sport (When I saw that gaming is starting to have a spot in our society, I was happy about it because before, we were being somehow looked down upon. As a gamer myself, I know a lot of people who are really passionate when it comes to gaming. I saw that there’s really a huge potential here in the Philippines because we have a lot of gamers. Particularly now, Mobile Legends is now part of the SEA Games and it’s starting to get recognized as a sport),” said Roadfill.

Roadfill also said that being supported by ARC Refreshment’s Corp’s Juicy Lemon for the tournament is a milestone achieved for the esports community. “Nakakatuwa na sakto sa vision ko, which is to support the Mobile Legends community, ang pagsuporta naman ng Juicy Lemon for this tournament. Naging open sila sa idea kaya nabuo itong project na ‘to (It’s nice to think that, aligned with my vision to support the Mobile Legends community, is the support provided by Juicy Lemon for this tournament. They were open to the idea which is why this project became a reality).”

Advocacy for sports development and the values associated with it pushed ARC Refreshments Corp., the company behind “RC Cola Liga ng Bayan” 3x3 Basketball Tournament, to support ULVL’s “Juicy Legends Tournament”.

“We really wanted to do egaming and we were looking for a good partner to tie up with Juicy Lemon. We figured this tournament would be a good fit. Esports now is gaining attraction. We wanted to encourage that and to promote sports of different types. Esports promotes teamwork, sportsmanship, and resilience. I think the younger generation has different ways of understanding, doing and showing these values. Playing sports and esports would be some of the effective ways to hone them more,” said James Loverio, Head of Marketing at ARC Refreshments Corporation.

Juicy Lemon is the refreshing, low-calorie, lemon-flavored softdrink of ARC Refreshments Corp., the manufacturer of other well-loved beverages namely RC Cola, Seetrus, Fruity Soda Orange, Arcy’s Rootbeer, and Rite ‘N Lite.