NEWS | Paragon of excellence: E-skolar ng Bayan triumphant at Bakbakan XV
By Gwyneth Cruz and Angela Vanessa Manuel
On March 19, after a month-long run, the fifteenth edition of Bakbakan officially came to an end, but its legacy is already etched in the culture of the UPM community — a breakthrough amidst the horrors of pandemic! The conclusion of the two remaining e-sports events in this edition, Valorant and League of Legends (LOL), meant that the Freshie Team and College of Public Health (CPH) joined the College of Medicine (CM) in the elite ranks of being hailed as Bakbakan XV’s tournament champions. Now that the students had tasted the thrill and hunger for victory, it is, without a doubt a threshold of the incoming stints of e-sports in future Bakbakans.
A Token of Valor
After the College of Medicine’s (CM) Team 1 glorious victory at this year’s Bakbakan Call of Duty: Mobile Battle Royale Tournament last February 24, the seven colleges continue to battle it out for the remaining two events of Bakbakan XV, Valorant and LOL.
During the Valorant event, the highly competitive 5-v-5 tactical shooting game, the UP community witnessed the fierce battle between the university’s rookies and veterans. The newcomers showed impressive skills as they, the Freshie Team (FT), outlasted the CM team, winning the best-of-five series, 3–2.
The CM team took an early lead as they won the first game of the series, which utilized the Bind Map, 13–10. However, the FT quickly picked up the pace of their seniors as they showed no mercy and won the second game in some style, 13–3. The FT’s dynamic positioning in the Ice Box complemented by TC Soren’s six first blood kills was too much for the CM team to handle.
Meanwhile in the Ascent Map, the location of the third game, the TC Soren-led FT once again displayed sharp execution of plays to win the third game, 13–9. If that wasn’t enough, TC Soren recorded eight massive kills.
Despite FT’s back-to-back wins, the cold-blooded CM team forced the series to a do-or-die match as they achieved a 13–6 victory over the FT in the Haven Map. The combined efforts of the team and the clutch plays of both Stupidness and Zenophyte was the key to tie the series 2–2.
With everything on the line, both teams did not disappoint as the fifth and final game of the series ended with a close fight. The FT survived and prevailed in the intense game, edging out the CM team 13–11.
In the end, the youngbloods remained indisputable and were rightfully hailed as Bakbakan XV’s Valorant Champions. With TC Soren’s superb performance, he was then awarded the Most Valuable Player (MVP) of the well-contested finals.
The FT is composed of Finals MVP TC Soren, EddieMabs, Kusei, ASPX kazma, and Suki. While the runner-ups, the CM team, is composed of Zenophyte, Stupidness, TTL, MapleBacon, and ImpossibleZenith.
It’s legen- (wait for it) dary
As the name of the final event suggests, the two opposing teams showed legendary performances in a best-of-five series of the League of Legends tournament. The College of Public Health (CPH) team swept the series versus the College of Nursing (CN) team, 3–0, and claimed the title of Bakbakan XV’s LOL Champions.
For the grand finals, as agreed by both teams, they were allowed to draft their champions. The CPH team’s precise and strategic plays as they conquered the Summoner’s rift was evident in all three games played.
During the first game, CPH’s team was composed of Gragas, Hecarim, Pantheon, Xayah, and Galio — all known for their strong map presence and exquisite fighting skills. Meanwhile, the CN side opted for Ivern, Shen, Leona, Malzahar, and Jinx — all considered exemplary defensive champions. The CN team drew the first kill but after that their defense lagged, resulting in CPH winning the first game of the series. The victors left no room for their opponents to breathe as they achieved a 26–7 victory.
CPH continued their impressive run into the second game as they started really strong, even drawing the first kill. The Lara Hall-based squad was able to extend their lead, recording a total of 29 kills — only a point behind to get that thirty (pun intended), against the Sotejo Hall-based squad who only had 12. Despite having HEIMERDINGER to play alongside Morgana, CAITLYN, ZAC, and RENEKTON, CN’s team once again fell short. It seemed like CPH’s strategy of having solid coordination and a “skill-wise” strong team, composed of Graves, Seraphine, LeBlanc, Kai’Sa, and Malphite, was the perfect formula for success.
Pure dominance — that was what the CPH team showcased as they went on to win the third game and officially sweep the series. The combination of Mordekaiser, Sejuani, Lucian, Aphelios, and Seraphine was able to outlast CN’s Hecarim, Braum, Ryze, Xayah, and Yone. The constant miscommunication, positioning errors, and often late rallies of CN proved to be detrimental for them. CPH finished off the series with a 25–13 win over CN.
The great chemistry between the team, notably HEC Lamps’ great leadership, UPMDoki and NaAzir’s wide range of plays, and Jigokendo and agentjr08’s selfless supporting made them the incontestable champions of LOL.
Furthermore, the College of Arts and Sciences’ (CAS) illustrious run in the fifteenth edition of Bakbakan should not go unnoticed. For Bakbakan XV, only the CAS was able to achieve a podium finish in all of the three events held. During the Call of Duty: Mobile Battle Royale Tournament, CAS Team 2 shared the second place with CM Team 2.
They went on to finish third in the remaining two events. The Step Bro-led CAS team really stepped on the CN Team, 2–0, securing the third-place in the Valorant event. Meanwhile, in the LOL tournament, the squad led by Ignotum swept the series against CM, 2–0, to bag the bronze medal.
Bakbakan Quest: Unveiled
Due to the looming circumstances brought by the pandemic, conducting this year’s Bakbakan is not an easy feature. It was certainly like a major character suddenly nerfed by its creators because of lack of resources and the toxicity of the environment. But the physical deficits are not enough to tear down the students’ mentality of play. With the power given to the Sports & Wellness Committee of the UPM University Student Council (UPM USC), the event pushed forward.
“Bakbakan XV wasn’t perfect, but I’m proud of the people who helped make this event possible. There were instances when certain people were suddenly unavailable, but each time there was always someone who pulled through. We always had a “next man up” mentality which was really infectious and helped make this project much more fulfilling,” expressed Migo Enriquez, Bakbakan XV’s Head, in an interview.
The current head, when asked if the three events will be included in future Bakbakan roster, stated “[d]efinitely. I always felt like there was a group of people that were left out in past Bakbakans and going forward, we want to make the event as inclusive as possible.” With the exposure of students and the rest of the UPM community in the realm of e-sports, it is only a matter of time that they will crave for another round, another chance and opportunity to showcase what they got and the skills they have improved on. This was granted when it was regarded that e-sports will be a constant part of UPM’s tradition.
Enriquez then mentioned that his key takeaway from this edition’s Bakbakan is that “[t]here was a growing interest in the UPM community towards e-sports. Students were able to display and showcase their talents which can pave the way for not just intra-UPM competitions, but us possibly joining the collegiate e-sports scene in the near future.”
This year’s Bakbakan might be officially over, but it left the students, especially those who already competed, begging for more. The feelings will never falter as the desire to undergo the familiar rivalries, adversaries, missions are only kept, but never lost, stolen or forgotten.
