The Philippine team, composed of Playbook Esports mainstays Alexandre “AK” Laverez, Adreij “Doujin” Albar, and Juliano “Jules” Lozano, concluded their Gamers8 Tekken 7 Nations Cup with an impressive 7th place finish in Saudi Arabia on Tuesday.
Despite being eliminated early in the playoffs of the 16-country tournament, Team Philippines delivered a memorable performance with victories over Germany (2-1) and Bolivia (3-0) in the group stages.
They suffered a close 2-1 loss to powerhouse Korea in the group stages before being swept by the Tekken 7 giant Team Japan in the Loser’s bracket, bidding farewell to the tournament.
After Jules fell to a 3-1, 3-0 defeat in the Entry Round against Japan, Doujin put together a spirited run. That forced a rubber match with a 3-0 win in Game 2 of the Middle Round.
However, Akihiro “Ao” Abe regained his momentum in the deciding game, defeating Doujin and giving Japan a 2-0 series lead.
In a must-win Boss Round to extend the series, the pressure was on AK’s shoulders as he faced the 2021 Japanese Champion Yuta “Chikurin” Take. However, he quickly fell behind, losing 3-1 in Game 1.
But the Filipino prodigy showed his heart in Game 2, almost snatching a victory before ultimately succumbing to a narrow 3-2 loss.
AK then decided to rely on his iconic Shaheeh character, which helped him secure a breakthrough 3-0 win in Game 3. But his Japanese rival quickly regrouped and dominated Game 4, sealing the series with a 3-0 win.
