For two days in early March, the PNB Financial Center became the most important card table in the Philippines. Thirty-six of the nation’s sharpest Tongits players descended on the Pasay City venue on March 7 and 8, 2026, competing under the lights and cameras of the GameZone Tour Tongits Plus Champions Cup Season 4, an event that formally elevated what generations of Filipinos had long enjoyed around tables into a structured, nationally broadcast competitive sport.

The tournament, known formally as the TPCC and the fourth season of GameZone’s flagship GameZone Tour, represented one of the most competitive Tongits championships yet staged in the country. With a total prize pool of ₱10,000,000 and a ₱5,000,000 grand prize awaiting the last player standing, the stakes were as high as the drama that unfolded across both days. When the dust settled, it was Ahrold Tubig who claimed the title, outlasting 35 other elite competitors and earning his place in GameZone history.

No one simply walked into PNB Financial Center as a contestant. Every one of the 36 players who took their seats on Day 1 had earned their place through a rigorous online qualification process conducted entirely on the GameZone platform — a PAGCOR-licensed digital gaming environment developed by DigiPlus Interactive Corp.

Thousands of GameZone Tongits players competed in official multi-table tournaments, accumulating leaderboard points across weeks of structured online play. The system was built not to reward a single lucky streak, but to identify players with sustained excellence: consistent discard management, adaptive strategy, and composure under pressure across dozens of competitive sessions. Identity verification requirements ensured that rankings reflected authenticated, real-world participation.

GameZone covered full travel and accommodation support for all 36 qualifiers, underscoring the organization’s commitment to treating its champions not merely as online users, but as professional competitors deserving institutional backing.

The semifinals featured nine players split into three groups. The winner of each group would then proceed to the finals. These would be: Ahrold Tubig, Gina Bengco, and Pilar Fernandez.

In a quick interview just before the second half of the finals, Tubig spoke plainly about the weight of the moment and his journey through the bracket. Gina Bengco, the first runner-up, brought an undeniable heart to the table, playing with a passion that resonated with the crowd. Rounding out the top three was second runner-up Pilar Fernandez; at 67 years old, she was the oldest competitor in the field and arguably the most loudly celebrated, proving that veteran experience still commands the room.

Later that evening, Ahrold Tubig was declared the 2026 Tongits Plus Champions Cup Season 4 Champion, walking away with ₱5,000,000. Gina Bengco received ₱1,000,000, and Pilar Fernandez took home ₱500,000.

In the spirit of the celebration that followed, Tubig and Fernandez expressed excitement for Season 5.

The GameZone TPCC Grand Finals were not only about the main championship bracket. Yskaela Fujimoto won the crown as the “Tongits Queen” during the celebrity exhibition match, outlasting Christine Samson and Awra Briguela.

The title came with a P150,000 prize, which would go to Fujimoto’s chosen advocacy, which focused on STEM education.

The GameZone TPCC Season 4 weekend also served as a platform for something beyond cards and competition. The DigiPlus Foundation — the newly rebranded corporate social responsibility arm of DigiPlus Interactive Corp., formerly known as BingoPlus Foundation — used the occasion to highlight its four flagship programs, bringing the organization’s mission of “multiplying the good” in front of one of its largest live and streaming audiences of the year.

FutureSmart is the DigiPlus Foundation’s education pillar, investing in long-term transformation through collegiate scholarships, IT certification training, and upskilling programs — having already empowered more than 6,000 students and professionals nationwide. The program’s PlusCenters, established in underserved communities from Masbate to Cebu. FutureSmart earned international recognition when it received a Gold Stevie Award for Excellence in Social Impact at the 2025 Asia-Pacific Stevie Awards.

KalusuganPlus is the Foundation’s healthcare arm, delivering medical assistance and mental health support to both urban centers and geographically isolated communities across the Philippines. Through its medical missions, the program provides free consultations, essential vitamins, and medicines, easing the financial burden on families and ensuring that patients can continue their treatment with dignity.

WishPlus is the Foundation’s inclusive empowerment program, dedicated to turning hope into action by granting life-changing wishes to Filipinos facing difficult circumstances. From providing sari-sari store essentials to struggling families to supporting livelihood initiatives that restore dignity and self-reliance, WishPlus operates on the belief that every person deserves a fighting chance. The program has granted nearly 10,000 wishes to date.

BayanihanPlus is the Foundation’s disaster response and community resilience program, mobilizing relief goods and recovery support for Filipinos affected by typhoons, floods, and other calamities from Luzon to Mindanao. Rooted in the Filipino spirit of bayanihan — communities helping communities without expectation of return. BayanihanPlus has assisted more than 176,000 Filipinos in the wake of disasters, working in partnership with local government units and national agencies including the DSWD.

Together, the four programs have collectively served over one million Filipinos. The Foundation’s presence at the TPCC Season 4 was a reminder that for DigiPlus, competitive gaming and social responsibility are not parallel tracks but deeply interwoven ones.

The 2026 TPCC Season 4 did not emerge from nowhere. GameZone’s competitive Tongits circuit has evolved through multiple iterations — from the original Tongits Champions Cup to the GameZone Tablegame Champions Cup and now the Tongits Plus Champions Cup — with each edition raising the ceiling on prize pools, format rigor, and national reach.

With Ahrold Tubig now holding the Season 4 title, and three more GameZone Tour seasons confirmed for 2026, the competitive ladder is already filling with players who watched Tubig, Bengco, and Fernandez battle at the Grand Stage and began planning their own qualification runs.

Tubig and Fernandez’s parting joke about Season 5 was more than a laugh line — it was an invitation, extended to every Filipino who has ever held a hand of Tongits and wondered how far their game could take them.