NRX Jeremiah 29:11 went on a runner-up finish for a $1,500 prize (over P72,000) while both Veni Vidi Vici (VVV) Esports and VVV Conquerors ended up in the playoffs of the Call of Duty Mobile ESL MSP Major over the weekend.
After settling for the fourth spot at the end of the eliminations, the Garena champion NRX cruised to a perfect run in the lower bracket only to fall short against top seed Divinity.Uprising of Singapore in the grand finals of the eight-team tournament.
NRX strung up 2-0 sweeps over VVV Conquerors, VVV Esports and Resurgence of Malaysia to set up a best-of-five duel versus Divinity.
The Filipino powerhouse team, which qualified for the CODM World Championship, moved on the cusp of the Major title as it seized a 2-1 series lead with a 6-3 win in the first Bomb Mission (Search and Destroy) at the Crossfire and a thrilling 150-144 triumph in Domination at the Firing Range.
However, Divinity replicated its opening Hardpoint win, 150-92, at the Standoff in the second Hardpoint mode at the Crash, 150-98, before taking the last Bomb Mission map at the Summit, 6-4.
NRX is bannered by captain JC "Jayzee" Rivera, Jerrold "Woopiiee" Regay, Kennedy "iDra" Mondoy, Benj "CRUSH" Trinidad, Warren "WarrenTzy" Jadear and coach Michael "Kyaaah" Belaya in this tournament.
Meanwhile, VVV Esports sealed the third seed while Conquerors got the sixth and final spot in the eliminations to make it to the playoffs.
"It (MSP Major campaign) is important because it shows that we can hang with the best teams in SEA and it also gives us the respect that we deserve," said coach Jericho Ambulo of both VVV squads.
VVV Esports is made up of captain Louis Paolo "Jeon" Bacolod, Maiko Lorenzo "Nickflip" Sato, Christopher "Mac" Macaranas, Russel Dave "HxS" Gonzales, Benedict "Krimz" Fruto and Ronilo "Ron" Nebre.
Composing the Conquerors team are Fernando Jose "Pai" Del Gallego, Adrian "BoyB" Pelostratos, Fitzaimon "Moi" Yago, Kenshin "Ken" Yago and Marthur "Mjay" Bayle.
Another Filipino team in PDR Reborn participated in the regional online tournament.