Mineski Professional Gaming League Cebu recap

Earlier this June, Mineski created a big opportunity for Cebuano gaming by opening a Mineski Infinity cyber cafe in Talamban. 

image courtesy of Mineski.net

This is just a little recap for those that have been living under a rock (or those that have just been aware of the Cebu DotA competitive scene).

The MIOT (Mineski Infinity Opening Tournament), held last June 25, 2011 was, by far, the biggest tournament in local history, gathering 72 teams all over Cebu (with the exception of Latos, the reigning Cebu DotA team back then).

The tournament had no registration fee, the top 3 teams received medals and Mineski gear; while the tournament champion received a free trip to Manila (along with Latos) to participate in the MPGL (Mineski Professional Gaming League) tournament the following month. After 2 days of grueling matches, Stigma was crowned champion.

Latos and Stigma players in MPGL 3-6 (Manila)

The following month, July, Stigma and Latos participated in MPGL 3-6. They played good games but unfortunately didn't make it to the Top 8. After MPGL 3-6, Mineski Infinity owner, Raymond Tambis, wanted local players to get exposure to Manila players and teams.

To those that don't know, Manila is not only the capital of the Philippines but also the capital and pioneer of Philippine E-Sports.

With the vision of improving provincial gaming in mind, Mineski implemented a series of tournaments in Cebu (that happened every second week of the succeeding months: August, September and October). But who knew this opened the doors to the most volatile and most surprising team swap/disbandment/player changes.

MPGL Cebu 1-1 (August 13-14, 2011) opened with Exellon as the surprising champion. Stigma, the team that drove Latos to the loser's bracket and eventually it's fall to the 4th spot, gained a lot of recognition in that tournament although they only came in second. TNS, the revival of a legendary Cebuano team, came in third.

A few days after the loss of Latos in MPGL Cebu 1, Latos members Ninja, Balot (also known as Kenorange) and Nivram announced that they were leaving Latos to form Zeit Geist (taking TNS points but disbanding the said team). But Latos and TNS weren't the only ones with roster changes, Exellon and Stigma (due to one reason or another, which would be too much of a hassle to discuss in detail) did too.

Because of the roster changes in the top teams, team Kabu was formed (with players that were formerly from Exellon, Stigma and Latos).

MPGL Cebu 1-2 (September 10-11, 2011) was by far the most scorching tournament. Grudge matches from teams with former teammates were all the rage. The shout casting was almost as emotional as the players themselves who formed some of the teams at the last minute. But the disbandment of Latos was not in vain, team Zeit Geist (champion) tied the top score with Exellon (previous champion). Stigma, unfortunately, didn't make it past the group stage and Kabu still managed to hold unto the 4th spot despite player problems.

1. Zeit Geist (TnS) - 40 pts. / + 25
2. Exellon - 40 pts. / + 15
3. Barney - 22 pts. / + 18
4. Kabu - 20 pts. / + 8
5. Stigma - 18 pts.
6. Team Back Up - 12 pts. / + 12
7. Thumbs Down - 10 pts. / + 10
8. Synchronized - 10 pts.
9. Nemesis - 8 pts.
10. Harss - 6 pts. / + 6
11. Point Click Kill - 6 pts.
12. DnMd - 4 pts. / + 4

MPGL Cebu 1-3 (October 8-9, 2011) is definitely a tournament to watch out for.

With the teams changing players again, how will they fair at this extremely competitive stage?

For live updates refer to this link.