Sibol Dota2, Mobile Legends squads strike silver in World Esports Championships

MANILA, Philippines – It is a silver finish for the Philippines' National Esports team Sibol as its Dota 2 and Mobile Legends squads yielded to host country Indonesia in the International Esports Federation's (IESF) 14th World Esports Championships (WEC) in Bali, Indonesia over the weekend.

Sibol's Dota 2 squad of James "Erice" Guerra, Joel "JWL" Pagkatotohan, Charles "Lewis" Delos Santos, Jomari "Grimz" Anis and Eljohn "Akashia" Andales with Coach Mark "Kassiel" Magallanes had a stellar run in the Dota 2 competition. They lost only once during the play-ins to reach the top 16 and mounted a six-game winning streak to reach the grand finals from the upper bracket, earning one-game advantage against host country Indonesia.

The back and forth between the two teams eventually came down to a deciding Game Five match, wherein Indonesia snapped Sibol's winning streak and avenged their earlier defeat in the upper brackets with a 2-3 victory to earn the gold.

Sibol’s Mobile Legends team, composed of Blacklist International's main five Jonmar "V33Nus" Villaluna, Danerie "Wise" Del Rosario, Kiel "Oheb" Soriano, Edward "Edward" Dapadap and Salic "Hadji" Imam, Coach Kristoffer "Bonchan" Ricaplaza; and substitute players Joshua "Jade" Villarde and Kenneth "Yue" Tadeo, stumbled in their first match-up against the host country with a 0-2 defeat.

Since then, Sibol swept their four matches — all 2-0 against Slovenia, Argentina, Malaysia and Cambodia — to overcome the lower brackets and set up a rematch with Indonesia, which enjoyed an advantage after coming from the upper brackets.

Indonesia wasted no time in maximizing their advantage as they overpowered the Filipinos, 14-7, in under 18 minutes, propelling the host country to matchpoint.

Hoping to extend the duel, Sibol managed to secure key picks off and objectives in the first half of Game Two. But a patient Indonesia side turned the tide to secure the gold and give Sibol its second silver in this year's WEC.

Next in Sibol’s agenda would be the upcoming 32nd Southeast Asian Games happening in Cambodia in May 2023, as well as the 2022 Asian Games that were postponed to September 2023.