Veni Vidi Vici (VVV) Esports, Garena champion NRX Jeremiah 29:11 and VVV Conquerors all cruised to the playoffs of the ESL MSP Major.
After a grueling double round eliminations where teams played a total of 42 games, the three Filipino squads made it to the top six of the eight-team regional online tournament that stakes a prize pool of $3,500 (P168,000).
VVV Esports sealed the No. 3 spot with 24 points despite closing out the group stage with a 3-0 loss to sister team VVV Conquerors and a 2-1 defeat to eventual No. 2 Resurgence of Malaysia on Saturday.
NRX, the Garena representative in the Call of Duty Mobile World Championship next month, wound up at No. 4 with 22 points.
The PH powerhouse squad went on a final push for a playoff spot, taking down eventual top finisher Divinity.Uprising of Singapore, 2-1, before crushing another Singaporean squad in Impunity, 3-0.
VVV Conquerors grabbed the last playoff berth with 19 points after ending the group stage with a sweep of VVV Esports and a 2-1 setback to fellow Filipino team PDR Reborn, which failed to advance together with Impunity.
"It feels great. We worked hard for this and now we are here. I'm proud of both teams," VVV squads' coach Jericho Ambulo told the Manila Bulletin in an online interview.
"Out of 10, I'd give us an 8," added Ambulo, referring to his teams' performance in the eliminations. "Not the best but it could have been a lot better. A lot of "what if" moments but it's fine. Now we will learn from those mistakes and come out better."
VVV Esports will take on Malaysia's Klasiko Rampage while NRX will square off against VVV Conquerors in the lower bracket first round next week.
