Esports bout seeks to help school kids in need

By Joseph B.A. Marzan

 

An Iloilo-based regional youth leadership group has turned to online gaming or esports to forward its Brigada Eskwela advocacy and help children in adjusting to the “new normal” in education amid the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19).

While the group has regularly supported the Department of Education’s Brigada Eskwela over the years, this year would be different as the support to be provided would be in a different form.

The DepEd has forgone the traditional class set-up, replacing it with online and offline modes of learning as the COVID-19 pandemic continues to ravage most parts of the country.

iLead Trainings launched its Project B.E.S.T.: Brigada Eskwela e-SupPORT Tournament last Saturday, Oct. 3, 2020.

The training is in partnership with TITANz, a Call of Duty Mobile (CODM) clan, which helped cast and moderated the event.

The tournaments, which cover the games CODM and Mobile Legends, started on Oct 3-4 and runs every weekend of the month.

The CODM rounds started in Oct. 3 and 4 and resumes this weekend.

Participating teams for Mobile Legends will be competing on Oct. 17-18, and Oct. 24-25.

The top three teams in each of the games at the end of the tournament will win cash prizes of P2,000, P1,500, and P500, respectively.

Proceeds from the tournaments will be used to provide materials for elementary pupils at Anjawan Primary School in Dueñas, Iloilo, and Nueva Valencia Central School in Nueva Valencia, Guimaras.

The tournament’s Project Head Joaquin Regalado explained that the title of the tournament reflects its essence and purpose.

“As an organization centered on impact leadership, or leaving an impact on the youth, we recognize that Filipino students deserve the best, and so this is our way of helping that cause through financial assistance and spreading awareness. Project BEST is an acronym which signifies our mission to help the cause of providing Filipino students with the best help we can, and at the same time it encapsulates the essence of the event, which is an esports tournament,” Regalado said.

Regalado added that the organization chose esports because it was a good way for the youth to become more involved even during the pandemic.

“Nowadays, esports is becoming so ubiquitous in society, especially among the youth. Since this is an event for the youth and by the youth, we thought that esports is an area wherein we can get a lot of support from an untapped group, since a lot of other sectors have already been giving help. Through this esports tournament, we can generate our needed financial support, and at the same time hold an event which is fun for its participants,” he added.

 

 

STATS

The tournament kicked off with 12 teams battling to win CODM within four groups of three teams.

Eight teams have already been eliminated after two days.

Teams TAKUSA, Intrepide, PXE Chaos, and SAS X Vikings were already eliminated on the first day of the tournaments (Oct. 3), and were followed by teams TAKUSA GAMING, JUNGLEROOM FAM, DCG Sinister, and Team 24 on the second day (Oct. 4).

The next rounds for CODM are estimated to start at 1:30 p.m. today with the following schedule:

– CKG ALIANZA vs Philippians 2:3 at 1:30 PM;

– TITANz Eleos vs TITANz Phoebe at 1:50 PM;

– Grownups vs Ludes at 2:20 PM;

– TITANz Hypollo vs TOLAN at 2:50 PM;

– PXE’Amity vs SAS Alpha One at 3:20 PM;

– MUNITY vs MSE Scelestus at 3:50 PM;

– Bata ni Jobert Bugtot vs Jodera at 4:20 PM; and

– T6 Coreleone vs NRX Luke 1:37 at 4:50 PM

(Photo from www.elecspo.com)