QUANZHOU, CHINA —Despite lacking the necessary offline experience, SIBOL’s Honor of Kings squad is confident that they can score a breakthrough for the Philippines at the upcoming 2024 China-ASEAN Esports Competition.
Heading into the birthplace of the game against much-experienced squads, SIBOL HoK, composed of players from BOOM Esports, is banking on chemistry and precise execution as they dip into action this coming Thursday.
“‘Yung preparations namin smooth naman and ‘yung expectations namin sa result, I think kaya namin at least silver pero kaya rin maka-gold basta maganda gising. Expect nila silver, kayang kaya,” said team captain Miguel “Miggie” Banaag.
“Dagdag sa experience samin sa offline stage ‘to kasi unlike sa ibang region, ‘yung mga qualifiers nila is offline, sa big stage na talaga. Sa PH hindi pa ganun so eto stepping stone namin para mas lalong lumakas at mag-improve sa offline matches.”
SIBOL HoK will be heading into the tournament oozing with confidence after recently topping the Honor of Kings Championship 2024: Philippines Qualifier, which earned them a ticket to the world tilt set this October.
Bannering the squad are Banaag, Dragon Hard “Dragon” Dajao, Audrey “Ajiizix” Cedro, and Eleazar “Azar” Salle.
Veteran coach Christian “Ciiyan” Villegas will call the shots for the national team, while Execration standout Karl Ken “Karlll” Bautista will serve as the team’s lone reserve.
Banaag said that the team’s bond will be a major factor in the one-day tournament, which also includes Thailand, Myanmar, Cambodia, Indonesia, and Hok powerhouses Malaysia and China.
“Sa tingin ko malaking bagay sa tournament kasi ‘yung team chemistry and preparation madali na lang para sa buong team kasi itutuloy na lang namin ‘yung ginagawa namin unlike kapag galing sa iba ibang team,” said the 23-year-old clash laner.
“May time na hindi pasok sa schedule, unlike kapag isang buong team talagang tuloy tuloy ‘yung practice. Kung ano ‘yung natututunan niyo, naa-apply talaga lagi sa game nang iisa lang talaga.”
The former Arena of Valor player also shared that the team is raring to go up against the home squad, who has been nothing but dominant since the game’s release in China in 2015.
“Sobrang gusto ko silang makalaban kasi kahit sabihin nating hindi tayo makapanalo, ‘wag naman sana, malaking experience samin ‘yun kasi ibang experience na talaga sila sa larangan na ‘to, sa Honor of Kings. Dagdag sobra sa experience at knowledge sa game, ‘yun ‘yung pinakamatututunan namin sa kanila,” said Miggie.
The eight competing teams will be divided into two groups, each going through a round-robin best-of-one format. The top two teams from each group will advance to the best-of-three semifinals.
The winners of the semifinal series will then compete in the best-of-three grand finals, where the champion will take home ¥50,000.
