Capping off the last day of AcadArena Alliance Games S3, the Viridis Arcus (VA) Mobile Legends: Bang Bang (MLBB) team was unable to defend their title after falling at the hands of Lyceum of the Philippines University (LPU) Pirates Esports, 2-1, in the Alliance Games S3 MLBB Finals last June 4 at the CONQuest 2023 Esports Stage at the SMX Convention Center.
Representing VA in MLBB were Francis Albert “ANGRY N4TSU“ De Mesa, Gabriel “Gabo” Sanchez, Clement “Clnem” Chua, Journey Nixon “Jinx” Ong, Joshua “Aspect” Tating, and Ryu “Laytutu” Godoy.
Championship Experience
With both sides eager to advance to the Finals, it was a neck-and-neck matchup between Viridis Arcus and University of San Agustin’s (USA) SAGE Caritas in the first game of their semifinals series on the second day of CONQuest last June 3. Viridis Arcus controlled the early game courtesy of Clem’s Xavier but SAGE Caritas slowly came back from the depths by securing objectives and slowing down the pace. It was anyone’s game but a crucial lord steal from ANGRY N4TSU’s Beatrix sealed the deal for the reigning champions, putting them up into match point early in the series.
Viridis Arcus picked up where they left off as they continued their momentum from their win in Game One. The Green and White once again took an early 3-1 kill spread against the team from Visayas in the first three minutes of the game. Both teams gave it their all, going back and forth on securing key objectives. During the 10th minute of the match, SAGE Caritas wiped out Viridis Arcus to steal the lord. The Taft-based squad was able to defend their base and eventually regained their lead. In the end, Viridis Arcus finished off Game Two and booked themselves a slot in the Finals at the expense of SAGE Caritas.
Brighter Days Ahead
The first game of the Finals started out slow for both teams. LPU Pirates Esports got away with the lead after winning a series of team fights against DLSU’s Viridis Arcus. The underdogs outplayed the reigning champs, securing every turtle and lord in the match. It only took 12 minutes of action for LPU to gain the chance to take away the chip from DLSU, leading the series, 1-0.
Viridis Arcus showed their true form in the second game of the Finals, dominating the opposing team from all angles. It was a perfect match for VA as they showcased their teamwork, winning almost all of the team fights of the match. Gabo’s legendary Beatrix was flawless as he dominated with a 14-0-2 kills-deaths-assists stat line. Laytutu was hailed as the Most Valuable Player of the match after dismantling the opposing team with his precise hooks using Minsitthar. Viridis Arcus wasted no time in tying up the series, winning in just under 11 minutes to keep their hopes alive for a back-to-back championship.
The deciding game of the series was as close as it could get. The reigning champs showed their experience on the big stage, controlling most parts of the game. Aspect’s Hayabusa was on point in securing objectives and picking off kills for the side of VA. However, LPU was eager to upset the favored DLSU, giving it their all to stay in the match. A crucial pick-off on Aspect, courtesy of Alas’ Khufra, became the turning point of the match as it allowed LPU to freely secure the second lord and eventually close the gap between the gold of both teams. Both teams were playing chess at this point in the match as they waited for the next lord to come up. The last team fight went in favor of LPU Pirates Esports as they caught Viridis Arcus off-guard in a 4v4 scenario with Beatrix, VA’s main damage dealer, on the other side of the map. The team from LPU-Manila scored a wipe out that allowed them to seal the deal and take home their very first championship in the AcadArena Alliance Games.
Viridis Arcus’ superstar jungler, Aspect, reflected on their mindset after their first loss in the series, “We weren’t really affected by the Game One loss, we were still very confident going into Game Two.” Their mindset obviously translated to the game as they dominated the second game of the Finals.
Throughout the series, the Lasallian community showed love and support for Viridis Arcus, as pointed out by Aspect, “I want to say thank you to all the VA supporters and please continue to support us in our next tournaments to come.”
Despite being unable to defend their title this time around, this championship run by Viridis Arcus was one for the books. With this setback, the team now looks to refine their championship recipe and come back stronger to retake their title.
