RP’s RAN Online team lands 1st runner-up in tournament

The Philippine team sent by IP E-Game Ventures Inc. (IP e-Games), one of the leading online game publishers in the country, became first runner-up in the 1st RAN Global Tournament, the biggest PvP (player versus player) competition in Southeast Asia.

The RAN Global Tournament (GT) is one of the biggest online gaming tournaments in the region and the best RAN Online gaming teams from Thailand, Malaysia and Indonesia also participated.

The Philippine team was composed of Benito Carlo David Brosas, Adrian Justin Magtoto and Ronnuel Florida, Battle Royale winners, and Zulius Czar Apostol, winner of RAN Online’s Search of the Fourth.

While the members of the Indonesian, Malaysian and Thailand teams were aged 20 to 22, those of the Philippine team were younger, with Florida being the youngest at 16 and the rest, 19.

Tournament rules were as follows: Team members used character and stat skills for RAN Online level 147 characters. When a team won two consecutive matches, it got three points. If it won two rounds but lost one, it got two points. The team with the most points after six matches won the championship.

In the first round, the Philippine team beat Indonesia, 2-0, quickly. Brosas, the team leader, said they combined their attacks (called Starfall and Dance of Death). “We went on the offensive and synchronized our attacks and it worked pretty well,” he said.

Next round, they went against the Malaysian team. Using more varied attacks but the same offensive strategies, they were able to pummel the opposition.

But Thailand was on the winning streak as well, defeating the Malaysian and Indonesian teams in the later matches.

The final round was between the Thai and Philippine teams. In the first round, the Philippine team won by making short work of its support characters. But the second round proved different as Thailand rebounded using its skills to weaken the Philippine team.

The final round proved to be the clincher. The Thai team had two characters to heal their characters while the Philippine team only had one. In the end, it became a war of attrition.

“They had two Shammies (Shamans are full support RAN Online characters) so they had the advantage. We only had one and we were more on the offensive. In the end they had more characters healing each other, more potions and outlasted our characters,” Brosas recalled.

Thailand had the most points and won the championship, winning $3,000, RAN Online in-game items, and other prizes.

As first runner-up, the Philippine team got $2,000, RAN Online in-game items, and exclusive RAN Global Tournament merchandise.

Malaysia clinched second place by defeating Indonesia, and won $1,000, while Indonesia got $500.

But the RAN Online Philippine team got more prizes. Aside from the cash and merchandise, Asia Pacific College, one of its select sponsors, gave each member a scholarship.

Globe Broadband, one of the leading broadband Internet service providers, was also one of the sponsors of the RAN Online Philippine team.

Steve Tsao, president and COO of IP e-Games, said, “The strong showing of the Philippine team in the RAN Global Tournament is not a surprise. The Filipino gamers are some of the best gamers in the region and we fully expect to compete more fiercely not just in RAN Online but in all of our products in the future.”

Heidi Mendita, IP e-Games MMORPG group product manager, said that in spite of not getting the RAN GT championship, she believes that the Philippine team gave a strong performance.

“We are proud of the achievement of our RAN Online Philippine team. Next year, we will be better and prepare the next Philippine team to compete in the next RAN Global Tournament,” she said.

Mendita said the tournament and the performance of the Philippine team proved that online gaming goes beyond entertainment.

“It’s serious cyber sports, which is why e-Games and its sponsors are putting considerable resources into nurturing it further. The parents of the players themselves see it as a means to educate and make their children future-ready. And we will definitely be participating in more regional and global tournaments in the near future,” she added.