The Sibol Men’s Wild Rift team ended its 31st Southeast Asian Games campaign winless after suffering twin losses to Thailand and Malaysia anew in Day 2 of the Wild Rift esports event at the Vietnam Convention Center on Saturday, May 14.
The Filipino bets continued to struggle as they suffered another crushing 15-3 defeat at the hands of Thailand before falling to Malaysia 20-8 in the second game.
Just like in their first meeting, Sibol had a hard time finding its groove against the relentless map pressure from the Thais. The superb macro plays allowed the Thailand squad to secure major objectives while also starving Sibol by taking control of its jungle camps.
The Thais even capped the dominant display with an Ace in the final clash to finish off the Filipinos while booking their seat to the semifinals.
The second game saw a more even match with the Sibol holding on to slim gold leads despite trailing in kill score in the first 15 minutes of the match, all thanks to the split push from Renzel “Ecila” Ayuban.
The Filipinos were poised to take its first win in the tournament after winning in 4-on 3 trade during a huge midlane clash but key pick-offs on Ecila and Dragon Hart “Dragon” Dajao spelled doom to Sibol as the Malaysian secured the Baron Nashor to close out the game.
The men’s Wild Rift team is the first Philippine esports representative to formally bow out of medal contention while its women’s counterparts begin their own conquest on Sunday.