Team Liyab’s Caviar “Enderr” Acampado beat his Singaporean opponent in the finals to win the first-ever StarCraft II gold medal in the Esports event of the 2019 Southeast Asian Games.
Acampado lived up to his monicker after ending Thomas “Blysk” Kopankiewicz’s title bid, by winning 4-1 in the title match at the FilOil Flying V Centre in San Juan.
“I’m really happy and at the same time relieved that I didn’t disappoint our countrymen and all of our fans and supporters. My opponents were really tough but fortunately, my preparation along with the program we had prior to the SEA Games helped me a lot. This is for all who believed in us,” Enderr said after his historic win.
Enderr, one of several Team Liyab mainstays who made it to the national esports team, topped Group B with an unblemished record. Team Liyab is the professional Esports team of Globe in partnership with Mineski. Enderr topped his group, including a win over Kopankiewicz in the eliminations, to advance to the knockout round with a perfect record.
In the semis, Enderr had to dig deep against a very familiar opponent and tormentor in the winners’ bracket. Against Vietnam’s Tran Hong Phuc, Enderr proved steadier in the clutch to eked out a thrilling win over his rival to enter the gold medal match. Enderr won the match in heart-stopping base race to assure himself at least the silver medal.
Kopankiewicz, on the other hand, bounced back from his earlier loss to Enderr by beating local bet Derick Santos and compatriot Toh Wei Liang Alvin in four games to clinch the other ticket in the finals.
“Enderr’s hardwork, perseverance, and faith finally gets rewarded. And it couldn’t come at any better place than the biggest sporting event in the region. Hopefully, his win will solidify further the acceptance and recognition of Esports as a legitimate discipline in the country and a solid source of gold medals in future Southeast Asian Games. This augurs well for the further development of Esports in the Philippines,” Ernest Cu, Globe President, and CEO adds.
With the win, Acampado became the first Filipino individual Esports champion in the Southeast Asian Games. His gold medal is the third from the national esports team following similar triumphs of the Mobile Legends Bang Bang and Dota 2 squads earlier in the biennial games.