LOOK: Lolo DOTA player earns younger players' respect

Published April 8, 2015 7:18pm

For quite some time, a player of "Defense of the Ancients" (DOTA 2) named "Cris Montinola" has earned the respect of his peers playing the online multiplayer game.

But the player is getting even more respect after he was revealed to be a 65-year-old player from Iloilo City, GMA Iloilo reported.

Tony "Lolo Cris" Matulac became famous after photos of him playing DOTA 2 were posted and shared online in late March.

"Ang totoong pangalan ko ay Tony Matulac. Username ko ay Cris Montinola… Ang edad ko ay mag-66 sa June," he said.

Younger DOTA players were surprised—and awed—to realize they were playing against someone who could be twice or even thrice their age.

"At first surprised ako dahil siyempre at his age, nagco-compete pa siya together with us na mga bata pa. Astig naman talaga si Tatay!" said Vincent Caspe.

Matulac plays DOTA daily at an Internet cafe in La Paz in Iloilo. A photo by GMA Iloilo's Arangkada showed he feels quite comfortable playing the game:

Kilala niyo na bala si Lolo nga Dota Player? Bantayi bwas sa Arangkada ang iya istorya!

Posted by Arangkada on Monday, April 6, 2015

Photos on the DOTA 2 Philippines Facebook page gained over 56,000 Likes and over 2,700 shares in just over a week since they were posted on March 30:

Lolo Cris from Iloilo City plays Dota 2 every day!

Posted by Dota 2 Philippines on Monday, March 30, 2015

The GMA Iloilo report said "Lolo Cris" would be at the Internet cafe in the morning, take a lunch break, and return and play until 6 p.m.

He said playing the game has even improved his health, saying he was hospitalized in 2012 for a heart ailment.

"After na naging maayos na ako, sinubukan kung pumunta sa (Internet cafe) para maglaro. Na-introduce ang DOTA," he said.

The "ancient" player said he learned to play the game by himself, though he had had experience playing DOTA 1 and Warcraft Frozen Throne.

"Wala (nagturo) dahil dati naglalaro na ako ng DOTA 1 ang Warcraft Frozen Throne noong una. Parang related naman sila," he said.

He also said that when he consulted his doctor about playing the game, his doctor gave him the go signal.

Matulac, who was a businessman in Saudi Arabia in the 1980s, said he gets benefits from the game such as relief from stress and mental exercise.

"Kung makabibigay ito sayo ng kabutihan at kasayahan, ipagpatuloy mo!" he said. — Joel Locsin/TJD, GMA News

Tags: dota, videogaming, lolo, grandfather, iloilo