SIBOL’s Karl Gonzalvo advanced to the quarterfinals of the Puyo Puyo Champions tournament at the 20th Asian Games Aichi-Nagoya 2026 after finishing third in Group A on Thursday at Aichi Sky Expo in Japan.
Gonzalvo endured a difficult start against 11-year-old Japanese star Yuki Kurihara but quickly found his footing in the succeeding matches, bouncing back to finish the group stage with a 2-2 record and secure an outright quarterfinal berth.
After suffering a 0-3 loss to Kurihara, the content creator-turned-national athlete, who is supported by the Philippine Sports Commission and Philippine Olympic Committee, responded with a narrow 3-2 victory over Yu Wing Lim of Hong Kong.
Gonzalvo then cruised to a 3-0 win over Kazakhstan’s Alexandr Pivovarov to put himself in contention for the second seed.
However, Gonzalvo — who also receives support from Smart, Cignal, TV5, and Arena Social — fell short in his final group-stage match against South Korea’s Kang Dongshin, absorbing a tight 2-3 defeat.
The loss ended his hopes of securing the second seed, but Gonzalvo held on to third place in Group A, earning a top-eight finish and an automatic spot in the quarterfinals.
Gonzalvo will face the second-ranked player from Pool B in the quarterfinals on Saturday at 9:00 AM at the same venue.
