Pinoys bag top prize in DoTA tourney

A group of Filipino gamers came out victorious in the DoTA (Defense of The Ancients) 2 tournament in the World Electronics Sports Games 2016 in China last Sunday.

TNC (the net.com) Pro Team bested Danish team Cloud9 to claim the $800,000 or P40 million-peso grand prize of the DoTA tournament, GMA News' Marisol Abdurahman reported on "24 Oras" on Tuesday.

The TNC, which was formed in 2014 is composed of Ryo Hasegawa, 24; Samson Solomon Enojosa Hidalgo, 22; Carlo Palad, 20; Timothy John Radrup, 19; and Marc Polo Luis Fausto, 18. The objective of the group is to change the image of eSports in the Philippines.

"Nagpa-tournament kami. Inannounce namin dun na kung sino yung mananalo sa tournament na 'yun, sila yung magre-represent ng team. Magkakaron ng achievement at baguhin yung imahe ng pagkakilala nila sa mga online games," team owner Eric Redulfin said.

Like many Filipino teens, the group played for fun at first but they began to play in tournaments until they became professional DoTA players.

"Naniniwala kasi kami na yung skills sa inside the game, kaya i-develop yun as long as you have the right attitude," team manager Paulo Sy shared.

Despite their large earnings, the team hopes to return to college soon. Some group members had to take a break from school to perfect their game. Hidalgo, however, finished his studies before focusing on his eSports career.

"Pagkatapos po ng two years na pagaaral po, dun po ako nagfocus talaga sa DoTA," Hidalgo said.

"After ko mag-DoTA, gusto ko pa rin pong mag-aral. Para yun po kasi pangarap ko eh, magkaron ng diploma pa rin," Hasegawa said.

Sy added, "Swerte lang din siguro kami na nandito kami sa kinakatayuan namin, pero hindi namin siguro ina-advise na DoTA over school. Kumbaga, importante pa rin talaga ang pagaaral." — Rie Takumi/BAP, GMA News