By: JM Montevirgen
SMART Omega Empress made history by securing their first international title at the prestigious Esports World Cup x Mobile Legends: Bang Bang Women’s Invitational Tournament, held at the AMAZON Arena in Riyadh.
Omega Empress emerged victorious against Team Vitality with a commanding 3-0 win in the grand finals, marking the first time a Filipino team has won at the esteemed Esports World Cup.
The triumph came with a substantial prize pool of $180,000 (approximately P10.6 million). Additionally, Sheen “Shinoa” Perez, the team’s standout gold laner, earned $50,000 after being named the Grand Finals MVP.
The Smart Omega Empress’s journey throughout the tournament was nothing short of remarkable.
Remaining undefeated, they avenged their previous loss to the Bigetron-composed squad in the Southeast Asian Games grand finals last year, where they finished as runners-up.
Team captain and roamer Mery “Meeray” Vivero expressed heartfelt gratitude for the opportunities and unexpected success they experienced.
“Yung experience po namin sa Riyadh is sobrang thankful po kami don kase bagong experience po yung nangyari sa amin ‘don. May mga na-experience po kami na hindi pa namin na-experience, and nabigyan po kami ng opportunity na makapunta doon and sobrang unexpected po lahat ng nangyari sa amin,” Meeray shared during their welcome back celebration at the Amelie Hotel in Malate, Manila.
“Parang panaginip lang po eh. Kase ang haba ng panahon na prine-prepare namin ‘to and ‘yon nagbunga po lahat ng pagod namin.”
(C) Mia Montayre/Smart Sports
Joining Meeray were Kaye Maerylle “Keishi” Alpuerto (jungler), Gwyneth “not ayanami” Diagon (EXP laner), and Rica Fatima “Amoree” Amores (midlaner).
PLDT and Smart Head of Sports and Executive Director of MVP Sports Foundation, Jude Turcuato, congratulated the team and emphasized the significance of their victory, aligning it with Smart and PLDT CEO Manny V. Pangilinan’s commitment to supporting sports in the country.
“On behalf of the Smart and PLDT President, CEO, and Chairman Manny V. Pangilinan, I think this is precisely the reason why our group and our chairman support sports and in this case esports. It is the ability to inspire and unite a community, this esports community, and not just that but going beyond the whole Philippines, our whole country,” Turcuato said.
“MVP always says, ‘We do this because of nation building, we do this because to keep people united’ and I think it’s true especially when these things happen. You not only inspire yourselves in Saudi Arabia but everybody here who has interest in esports was really inspired.”
Omega’s Chief Marketing Officer Froi Endaya emphasized that the team’s success is just the beginning.
(C) Mia Montayre/Smart Sports
“What we did was history. Tapos na natin ‘yon, nagawa na natin ‘yon. The next thing that we should target is to create a dynasty. Ibig sabihin, consistency and greatness. So yun yung, next challenge ko sa team,” he said.
“Syempre kailangan level up tayo. Level up nang level up. Onto the next tayo. Hopefully you’ll see us more.”
Endaya also expressed hope that this victory will encourage more organizations to invest in female esports teams, recognizing the potential impact on women and the country.
“Hopefully this triggers more teams, more organizations, more people to fill in female esports players. Kasi ang laking impact nito hindi lang sa mga kababaihan natin pati na rin sa bansa natin. So I think it’s really worth the investment to create so many teams. And hopefully, magkaroon talaga ng professional league for FE (female) teams,” he concluded.
