Guardian’s Hive crowned 1st League of Legends Empyrean Cup champion

MANILA, Philippines — Guardian’s Hive survived 256 teams to come out on top of the first official League of Legends tournament in the Philippines: the Empyrean Cup. 

The team, composed of Christian Garcia, Darwin Santos, Cruise June Tilos, Marc Jazztine Barrion, Michael Jay Gawala and Clarence Paul Layoso, swept We Dominate BotSide, 2-0, to be the first Filipino League of Legends champion since Riot Games’ took over the publishing rights of the game for Southeast Asia.

The team had been confident that they would reach the finals as they believed in their skills in the game and saw only one team that could challenge them.

“Yung Looking For Sponsor yung team po na in-expect naming makakachallenge po sa amin tapos nagulat po kami nung nalaglag po sila sa semifinals [against We Dominate Botside],” said Barrion, who plays the Support role.

“Alam namin sa sarili namin na kami yung magcha-champion. Nung nalaglag yung Looking For Sponsor, mas tumaas yung chance namin mag champion kasi sila yung inisip naming makakaharap sa finals.” added Santos, the team’s mid laner.

Their confidence was strongly felt in Game 1 of the best of three match-up as Guardian’s Hive scored two aces to end the match in just a little over twenty minutes.

Though the second game saw We Dominate Botside trying to bridge the gap, the discipline and experience from Guardian’s Hive gave them the edge to win it all.

The win meant something greater for Santos, who had shared his initial plans of leaving the League of Legends scene. 

“Personally, sobrang big deal para sa akin nito kasi dapat titigil na ako mag [laro]. Bumalik lang ako nung inanounce yung Empyrean Cup. Buti nagkaroon ng chance [at ng] opportunity na makapasok [ulet at manalo],” shared Santos.

With the win, Guardian's Hive will take home the lion’s share of the P1-million prize pool (P500,000) but it's uncertain if the team will share the stage again.

“Yung team po namin is for this tournament lang po talaga. May ibang players po na lilipat ng other team habang yung iba naman po magfofocus sa acads. Siguro po if may opportunity ulet, yung ibang pro players maggagrind ulet and macocompete po sa other tournaments,” said Barrion.