The Battle to Radiant: Season 2

Mapúa Ar-Id-Be’s second Valorant tournament

While sitting comfortably and enjoying the company of the computer screen, e-gamers imagine themselves being physically present—the Mapúa University School of Architecture, Industrial Design, and the Built Environment (ARIDBE) student council hosted the 𝙑𝘼𝙇𝙊𝙍𝘼𝙉𝙏: 𝘽𝙖𝙩𝙩𝙡𝙚 𝙩𝙤 𝙍𝙖𝙙𝙞𝙖𝙣𝙩 Season 2 last 𝗝𝗮𝗻𝘂𝗮𝗿𝘆 𝟭𝟵 𝘁𝗼 𝗝𝗮𝗻𝘂𝗮𝗿𝘆 𝟮𝟮, 2022.

The e-tournament was joined by ten teams who are aiming to be crowned as the winner for Season 2 of the Battle to Radiant and claiming the ₱3,000 cash prize. Here is the list of the official teams (Courtesy to Mapua Ar-Id-Be Student Council Facebook Page):

Moreover, the shoutcasters for the tournament were composed of Louie, HavokX21, Cyll, Bel, and Sneakyfrog who used their voices, commentaries, and flowery words to provide a more intense game to the viewers. The student council will also be having a battlepass giveaway on the last day of the tournament.

Lock in, agents! Buckle up and look back on the journey of the teams of 𝙑𝘼𝙇𝙊𝙍𝘼𝙉𝙏: 𝘽𝙖𝙩𝙩𝙡𝙚 𝙩𝙤 𝙍𝙖𝙙𝙞𝙖𝙣𝙩 Season 2! Enjoy the front row as the teams showed their great skills and camaraderie in the three consecutive days of live streaming through these highlights.

QUARTERFINALS:

MT vs. ALX: MT STARTING THE GAME STRONG AGAINST ALX

In the first half of the game, ALEXANDRIA (ALX) was on the attacking side and MAI TEAM (MT) on the defending side. ALX team consists of Kaith Ramirez (k8k8) as Jett, Gabriel Amores (CC Acid) as Sova, Mikaela Col-long (nic0) as Killjoy, Andrea Quiambao (juicy) as Astra, and streamer Janciel Custodio (jaxi) as Reyna. MT on the other hand consists of Martin Isles (kyelekse) as Sova, Enrico De Guzman (NASA F4NYA) as Astra, Dexter Novero (dexyy) as Breach, Jasper Fermin (Zuefix) as Chamber, and Josel Unlayao (MGS Jeydi) as Jett.

ALX had a hard time catching up on the score of MT during the first half. The attacking side only had 1:30 minutes to plant the spike on either A, B, or C site since the map chosen was Haven. The defending side did a great job in defending the 3 sites, but unfortunately, the attacking side almost run out of time. In the second half of the game, the match became more intense as ALX managed to catch up with a score of 8 and 12 for MT. CC Acid was the only one left in ALX team and he was up against dexxyy, CC Acid tried to defuse the spike a C site while dexyy was in the garage but unfortunately, dexyy shot CC Acid right on time which lead to MAI TEAM (MT) becoming the winner.

QUARTERFINALS:

TKG vs. AUT: TKG TOOK THE BAG TO SEMI-FINALS

Quarterfinals days 3 game is a battle between TEAM KAGWAPUHAN (TKG) and AUTHENTICS (AUT). TKG consists of members Jett Pagayon (Jettttttttttttt) as Sage, Gian Vargas (Rekkles Behavior) as Sova, Rome Padilla (romeski) as Astra, Nathaniel Salunga (Nate) as Phoenix and Francis Saligumba (PRK SupaFinn) as Jett. The other team, AUT, consists of members Vince Madalipay (Iska) as Raze, Paul Retreta (Mugen 無限) as Sova, Sean Sayat (Bronze) as Killjoy, Ernest Jose (yako) as Astra and Gian Simpliciano (Skyline) as Reyna.

The first half of the match was intense as TKG fought for the sites that they were holding and AUT fought TKG to get in one of the sites to plant the spike and detonate it. After the first half, TKG had a score of 7 and AUT had a score of 5. AUT had a chance to catch up and there may be a huge chance to win the match but TKG seemed to step up their game. AUT got stuck at score 6 while TKG had a winning streak till the end, making TEAM KAGWAPUHAN the winner of the quarterfinals. During matchpoint, Gian Vargas and Rome Padilla were the only ones left in TKG, and Paul Retreta along with his teammate Sean Sayat were the only ones left in AUT. It was a 2v2 intense round, AUT might have won the round but as Paul and Sean double-peeked Rome from TKG, they both got shot, making Rome get a 4K and winning the round for TKG.

SEMI FINALS:

TKG VS BNK: TKG TO KICK BNK OUT OF THE FINALS

Starting off the Semi-finals Game 1 in Split map being TEAM KAGWAPUHAN as the defenders with their team captain Grandeur Bancod (TKG xMYCHIE) as Omen, Gian Vargas (Rekkles Behavior) as Skye, Rome Padilla (romeski) as Reyna, Jett Pagayon (Jettttttttttttt) as Killjoy, Nathaniel Salunga (Nate) as Raze and TEAM BAKURAN for the attacking side with starting players to be led by their team captain James Pedroza (BNK Cheezu) as Sova, Marc Tabangcura (BNK Sheeshwhiz) as Cypher, Gabby Padilla (BNK GabbyP) as Jett, Geremy Lintag (BNK Skiddie) as Reyna, Ryan Sarte (BNK RynSushi) as Astra.

As the second half of the game begins, BNK Skiddie (Reyna) and BNK GabbyP (Jett) try to push more effort to the team as they lead their team's scoreboard, but it appears like Team TKG is giving its all to end the game with a 12 - 8 score and its first semi-final win.

As Game 2 begins, the two teams switch their defending and attacking initial sides, but this time on the Ascent map. It was also a close game between the two teams until it was time to switch sides once more. The score is tied at 9 after Romeski (Astra) used her ult and Nate (Reyna) and Rekkles Behavior (Sova) took advantage of it by killing BNK RynSushi (Breach) and BNK Cheezu (Astra). It was a close game with scores changing only once till the score reached 11 (BNK) - 12. (TKG). Giving TKG the advantage to finish the game, and with the help of TKG xMYCHIE (Killjoy's) ult, they finish off BNK, with PRK SupaFinn (Jett) being named the Match MVP.

SEMI FINALS:

BLZ vs. MT: BLZ GRABS THEIR SEAT TO FINALS

In the best-of-three semi-finals elimination, team BLZ easily secured their spot for finals as they crushed team MT with two consecutive wins, having the final scores of 13-1 and 13-8 for games one and two, respectively.

During game one, the teams were facing off in the Haven map, with team BLZ playing as the defenders, while team MT as the attackers. In the first half, team BLZ overwhelmed team MT with a score of 11-1, leading game one to their favor with a final score of 13-1 after the second half of the game.

As team MT tried to grab a win during the start of game two as attackers in the Icebox map, team BLZ did not waver as they continued to defend their lead with a score of 9-3 during the first half. However, team MT tried to hold their ground during the second half, leading them to snatch some round wins against BLZ. Despite all the efforts of team MT, the team BLZ still pushed through as they broke the defense of team MT, bringing them to victory with a final score of 13-8. With two consecutive wins against team MT, the team BLZ gained their ticket to the finals.

GRAND FINALS: VALORANT CHAMPIONS 2022

After all the matches that had happened in the past few days, Finals finally came with only two team standing left which is TEAM KAGWAPUHAN (TKG) and FUMA BLAZE (BLZ). BLZ consists of Aldy Lim (FG El propesor) as Killjoy, Karl Narag (FG onl9ner) as Jett, Hong Changmin (FG crit) as Sova, Carlo Ayop (FG Omerta) as Breach, and Kennedy Baladiang (FG Keds) as Astra. TKG on the other hand consists of members, Gian Vargas (Rekkles Behavior) as Skye, Rome Padilla (romeski) as Sova, Nathaniel Salunga (Nate) as Jett, Jett Pagayon (Jettttttttttttt) as Killjoy and Körai as Astra. The first half of the match was intense as TKG had a hard time entering one of the sites because of BLZ defending strategies and also, BLZ had a hard time retaking the site when TKG already entered and planted the spike. One of the best clutch moments in this match was when Rome Padilla (romeski) was the last player standing. His HP level is below 50 and he was up against Hong Changmin (FG crit). Fortunately, Rome Padilla had other plans by clutching the round for the other team which is the shock dart lineup where he did while he was at C long.

The second half of the game was a close match, BLZ had no problem in entering one of the sites in Haven and planting the spike, but it seems to be that TKG is just really good at retaking the site. Up until the match point, the score of BLZ is 8 and the score of TKG is 12, which means that with one more win then TKG will be the winner. The last round became a 1v2 situation as Aldy Lim was the last player standing for BLZ and there’s still Rome Padilla and Körai left for TKG. One can defuse the spike while the other one can cover for the other. Aldy Lim was just about to come out from the garage at the C site when Körai already shot him to end the round and win Game 1 of the Grand Finals for TEAM KAGWAPUHAN.

Game 2 of the Grand Finals was also an intense match between TKG and BLZ. The map was Breeze and so both teams had Viper as their controller because of the fact that the A site and B site are both wide with three entrances. BLZ was on the defending side in the first half and they’re ahead of TKG for two points. But when TKG became the defenders in the second half, they step up their game as they played for retake every time TKG gets inside the side. Körai along with Gian Vargas were the only ones left for TKG and once again, they won the matchpoint, making TEAM KAGWAPUHAN the champions of the Valorant Tournament Season 2.

PLAYERS AND TEAMS, GOOD GAME!

As the finals came to an end, Team Kagwapuhan brought home the bacon and the ₱3,000 cash prize among the other competitive teams. Moreover, coming in hot for the first runner-up is Team Fuma Blaze, while climbing to the second place is Team Bakuran.

On January 24, the student council also announced the battlepass winner through their Facebook page. Lucky winner, Joeric Pialane, won the battlepass giveaway as he was one of the commenters supporting Messier 82 during the livestream last January 19.

Co Writers:

Maria Alekxandra Sison

Angelika Espejo

Dreamdith Therese Dy