The Teletigers (TGR) Chaos from the University of Santo Tomas (UST) captured the Championship at the Smart University Clash: Rise of Heroes, an inter-collegiate Mobile Legends Bang Bang (MLBB) tournament. The team from España bested more than 200 teams from all over the Philippines in the premiere inter-collegiate esports tournament organized by Smart Communications, Inc. (Smart) in partnership with Dark League Studios.
“The Smart University Clash offers a platform for the youth to pursue their passion in esports. For the second straight year, Smart gathered the best collegiate teams from around the country to battle it out in a thrilling and competitive tournament,” said Melvin C. Nubla, FVP and group head for Go-to-Market and Subscriber Management Team at Smart.
The Smart University Clash, part of the company’s effort to continue supporting the eSports industry and Filipino esports athletes from the grassroots to the professional league and international tournaments, saw more than 245 teams from across the Philippines slug it out in a single-elimination format.
At the Grand Final, out to avenge their comrades who fell short of the championship in the first edition of the Smart University Clash, the quintet of TGR Chaos quickly went to work. It dismantled Alduana from the University of Cebu Lapu-Lapu and Mandaue. Fueled by the desire to bring the trophy to España, the UST-based warriors swept their Visayas-based opponents in three straight matches.
“Our hard work paid off. We just stuck to our strategy and treated it like a normal game. We didn’t let pressure get the better of us,” said Aaron ‘AaronQT’ Lim of TGR Chaos and this season’s most valuable player.
Compared to the maiden tournament in 2023 that featured 59 teams, the 2024 edition is bigger and fiercer. Between May and June, the 245 participating teams from all over the country slugged it out in matches played on Smart Giga Arena, the country’s first all-in-one esports platform that brings the total esports experience at the fingertips of Filipino mobile gamers.
When the frenzy settled down, the top two teams from the National Capital Region, Luzon, Visayas, and Mindanao, gathered in Metro Manila for quarter- and semi-finals. Aside from the TGR Chaos and Alduana, the other top eight contenders were TGR Fury from UST, GD Aurelion from Batangas State University–Alangilan Campus, Nine Lives from University of Perpetual Help System Laguna, Holy Name University (HNU) Falcons in Bohol, Titans Explicit from Liceo de Cagayan University in Cagayan de Oro, and Dorsu Stallions from Davao Oriental State University in Davao Oriental.
Other than bragging rights and gold medals, TGR Chaos took home PHP120,000 in cash and a trophy. UCLM Alduana goes back to Cebu with silver medals and PHP80,000 richer. While Bohol’s HNU Falcons are returning home with PHP40,000 to go with their bronze medals. The rest of the quarterfinalists also received a surprise cash prize of PHP10,000 each from Smart.
“We had a great experience. We are grateful that Smart has given us the opportunity to experience what high-level esports competition is like,” said Alduana captain Skepper Lie ‘Lai’ Bacarro, an incoming sophomore Customs Administration student at UCLM.
Before the quarterfinals, the top eight teams attended a bootcamp where they met the Smart Omega MLBB professional athletes at the team’s headquarters in Marikina. The activity allowed them to learn about different strategies and take a peek into the professional esports industry.
The Smart University Clash underscores Smart’s efforts to support sports and empower the youth to live more today by giving them opportunities to pursue their passions. The initiative also highlights the use of technology to create a happy space that builds bridges of collaboration across sectors and communities.