After days of speculations, Nexplay Esports officially parted ways with its League of Legends: Wild Rift roster, Monday night.
Considered as one of the best amateur squads in the local scene after winning more than ten underground tournaments, the Aether Rift team composed of Justine “Juschie” Tan, Miguel “Arisen” Pison, Aaron “Chuley” Bingay, Jovannie “Oooze” Colong, Jazzfer “Dizastr” Villahermosa, and Ralph “zMitch” Alvarez was picked up by Nexplay Esports for the Southeast Asia Icon Series 2021.
“We are officially announcing the disbandment of our male Wild Rift team,” opened Nexplay Esports’ statement.
“Ooozee, Arisen, Aaron WR, Dizastr, Juschie, and ZMitch had undoubtedly shown their might in Wild Rift, especially in the early stages of its competitive scene, winning several championships under Nexplay, including the trophy of the SEA Icon Series PH pre-season.”
The team topped the SEA Icon Series Preseason in the country after taking down Sunsparks via a dominant 4-0 sweep in the grand finals.
Nexplay Esports, despite finishing second in the Summer Split: North Luzon regionals, managed to snag one of the two spots in the playoffs.
Entering the playoffs as the favorites to win it all, Nexplay Esports put up a commanding 2-0 performance against VVV Esports in the upper bracket quarterfinals. The team, however, seemed to have lost their touch in the following round. They lost to eventual champion Amihan Esports through a clean 2-0 sweep.
Nexplay Esports had the chance to advance through the lower bracket but suffered another sweep at the hands of Smart Omega Esports. It instead had to settle for a lowly 5th-6th place finish while also losing their chance to represent the country in the Summer Super Cup.
“Even though we no longer cross the same path towards our goal, we believe that these boys still got the potential, and we don’t want anything less but for them to succeed in their future endeavors. Thank you for being part of Nexplay Esports,” the statement ended.
