RIYADH: Omega Empress declared their Mobile Legends: Bang Bang Women’s Invitational triumph “a victory for the Philippines” after they whitewashed firm favorites Team Vitality 3-0 in the final at the Esports World Cup on Saturday night.
In front of a packed crowd at the SEF Arena at Boulevard Riyadh City, Omega Empress’s exploits earned them the lion’s share of the record-breaking $500,000 tournament prize pool for women’s esports — a cool $180,000.
Team Vitality, a French organization with an all-Indonesian roster of players, were on an incredible three-year run of victories with a winning streak of 24. But that changed as Omega Empress powered to glory, becoming the first Filipina team to win a tournament at the EWC.
Meraaay, Omega Empress captain and roamer, told the post-final press conference: “We want to give honor to our country. I hope we made our kababayans (countrymen) proud, including those who went to the venue to support us. It feels like a dream for all of us. We would like to take our hats off to Team Vitality who gave us a good fight. We can already call ourselves world champions.
“To all aspiring female ML:BB players out there, continue what you love doing. We started from scratch, always almost losing every time, but we continued playing because we felt like this is something we love.”
As well as Meraaay, real name Christine Vivero, the Omega Empress team features Gold Laner Sheen “Shinoa” Perez, Jungler Kaye “Keishi” Alpuerto, Mid Laner Rica “Amoree” Amores, and EXP Laner Gwyneth “Ayanami” Diagon. The team is led by coach Salman Macarambon.
Shinoa was declared the Final’s Most Valuable Player, scooping $50,000. She was also the only player to record a Savage kill in the entire tournament and was subsequently dubbed the “Filipina Savage” by watching fans.
She said: “I’m very happy. I really didn’t expect that I could achieve a Savage kill. I’m happy to have been given that moniker. I’m speechless but nonetheless I am very satisfied with my performance.”
The semi-finals saw Omega Empress beat Victory Song Gamers 3-0, while Team Vitality defeated Team Falcons Vega 3-1.
The eight-week long EWC, which features a unique cross-game structure that pits the world’s top clubs and players against one another across 22 global competitions in 21 leading games, runs until August 25. It has a total prize pool of $60 million, the largest in the history of esports.
More than 1,500 players representing over 60 nations are battling it out at the tournament. PUBG Mobile and Overwatch 2 reach their conclusion on Sunday, July 28 with another set of compelling final matchups at Boulevard Riyadh City.
