Filipino head coach Michael “Arcadia” Bocado believes that Red Giants Esports is heading in the right direction after securing a spot in the main draw of the Snapdragon Pro Series Season 3 SEA – Challenge Season.
After settling for second place in Group D of the second phase, Red Giants Esports was sent to the last chance qualifiers where they were pitted against Indonesian squads RRQ Hoshi and Bigetron Alpha, as well as Singapore’s Team Flash.
The Malaysian squad lost a tight three-game opening series against the Singaporean squad but managed to score an upset against RRQ Hoshi in three games as well in the elimination match, which gave them a slot in the decider match.
There, Arcadia and his team scored a revengeful 2-0 win over Team Flash to punch their ticket to Jakarta, Indonesia, and qualify for the main event.
“I’m very happy about our performance kasi we are just a new team.
“Nabuo kami like two weeks ago lang so we had little time to prepare for SPS but we are grateful and fortunate that we were able to qualify kahit na natapat kami sa mga teams na malalakas,” said Arcadia, who only joined the team a month ago.
“So it just shows that they can learn very quickly and they have big potential. We still have a lot to learn and things that we can improve so right now we are just taking it step by step,” he added.
Aside from reigning MPL Malaysia champion Todak, Red Giants Esports, which finished 5th-6th in Season 11, is the only Malaysian squad to qualify for the Challenge Finals of the tournament.
Arcadia said that the Snapdragon Pro Series, which features star-studded squads such as ECHO, RSG Slate PH, Bren Esports, and ONIC Esports, will be a great learning experience for the young squad as they prepare for the upcoming MPL MY wars.
The former RRQ Hoshi tactician also welcomed the addition of Filipino standouts Red “Super Red” Bordeos and Archie “Pancake” Guevarra Jr., whom he said were significant additions to the up-and-coming squad.
“These two are huge additions to the team. I’ve been scouting Red since his amateur days so I know the capability of this kid. His killer instincts and mechanics are of the best in the Philippines,” said Arcadia.
“As for Pancake, he is the team’s emotional leader in-game and he brings a lot of positive vibe into the tema. His shotcalling and pickoffs are also on point.”
Red Giants Esports is in Group A with Burn X Flash, ECHO, EVOS Icon, RSG Slate PH, and RSG Slate SG. Meanwhile, Aura Fire, Bigetron Alpha, Bren Esports, EVOS Legends, ONIC Esports, and Todak are all in Group B.
