After a year of planning, the UAAP has officially confirmed the addition of an Esports tournament on their Season 87 roster, set to take place on Monday, Aug. 13 at Areté inside the Ateneo De Manila University campus.

Set to represent the University for this inaugural event is the Teletigers Esports Club (TGR) which will be participating in all three competitive video games—Valorant in PC first-person shooter, NBA2K24 for sports-based console gaming, and Mobile Legends: Bang Bang (MLBB) for mobile multiplayer online battle arena.

Staying within the context of history, TGR MLBB coach and founder Theo Ignacio, also known as “Uomi,” alongside current TGR President Nicole Paguio, reminisced on TGR’s humble beginnings in an interview with TomasinoWeb.

Unsung Heroes

When asked about their rise from an unrecognized organization to IPEA-partnered UAAP representatives, Ignacio shared how TGR started out as a small community with less than 10 members and how despite being the winningest team in Esports during his term, rarely got their flowers from the community.

“ When I look at pictures of how the old TGR was, there were literally just eight, ten people inside the organization and everyone was managing while playing, everyone had to do more than actual roles because it’s a small community, it is,” Ignacio said.

“Looking back in 2017 to 2019, we constantly won almost everything, from Hearthstone, to Tekken, to League of Legends to DOTA 2, we’ve won them all, we had the most championships during that time, but even if we did have championships, what we didn’t have that other collegiate organizations had was support and community,” he added.

With his term already coming to an end, Ignacio entrusted the faith of the Teletigers to Richard Sergio known by his moniker, “Bilog”, whom he credited for raising TGR’s profile within UST.

Ignacio mainly described Bilog as a “community guy,” who would set up events outside and within the community in an effort to promote Esports within the University and was also known for valuing the people around him.

Bilog himself talked about the difficulties of growing the org and representing the University in tournaments during a time where gaming was not favorably looked upon by the community to the point that news about their triumphs were silenced and ignored by the community.

“We weren't recognized back then even though we have a lot of achievements, bringing UST multiple Championships in local and international events in different titles,” said Bilog.

Part of Bilog’s campaign was to make TGR recognized within the ranks of the University by aiming to break the stereotype between gaming and academics. Sadly, he never broke through this hurdle.

“I also tried to establish TGR as a University-wide organization multiple times until we gathered very exemplar students in academics and gaming but sadly, gaming was always a "gray area" in the eyes of UST,” he shared.

Letting go and giving back

Seemingly reluctant at first, Ignacio commented on how allowing younger members like Sergio to claw a path helped the club to get to where they are today.

“In my head, I told myself that I was lucky that I had the courage to let go, that I had the courage to trust these people because if I feel like I didn’t trust Bilog, TGR would still be in the slums or TGR might not even exist at all,” he added.

Ignacio also shared that he initially refused to coach TGR’s Mobile Legends team after being tapped by them, preferring to watch the team he built pounce to new heights under a new leadership.

Despite passing on the opportunity, Ignacio gave in and returned to TGR as the head coach of its MLBB team.

“When it kicked in to me, I said, they asked like specifically for me, my old org came to ask me specifically [to coach them], why did I even decline [the offer] in the first place?” he said.

Officially set to represent the school in a UAAP event, Ignacio, still expresses doubt on how the UAAP will follow through with the growth and significance of Esports as an event on the collegiate scene.

“ I have seen how a lot of people from traditional sports actually try to apply a lot of the disciplines that they learned from traditional sports to an esports tournament which, as you may know but not a lot of people, doesn’t really work out that well,” Ignacio also added, “So in my head, I was like, UAAP is a big entity, how are they not going to mess this up?”

On the other hand, Trisha Kyle Viñas, also known by the TGR community as “Ms. T.K.”, expressed elation and pride on TGR’s participation in the UAAP, and commended the leadership of those before him for continuing to grow the team.

“The org has gone through the rigorous process of joining and losing in competitions, arranging papers, building a community, and of course training holistic players. We’ve waited for this moment for so long,” Viñas said.

“Now we’re here, I’m happy for the former, current, and future generation of Teletigers,because we’re legal now! This is an opportunity for people to know that gaming is no longer just a hobby, but also a path for success.” she added.

Sergio also joined his fellow former presidents in thanking and congratulating both the club and the University for finally making their dreams come true. “I'm just lucky enough to witness all of it right now. I can say that the organization and the whole Thomasian Gaming Community are in good hands.” said the former TGR president Sergio.

Stepping Up

Now in charge of the community that her seniors built, Paguio shared how carrying the hopes and meeting the expectations of what those before her have started was not an easy feat.

“Honestly, at first I was scared… I was first afraid that I wouldn't be able to reach the expectations that the former presidents, the founders, the former vice presidents had set because they had been looking forward to a UAAP tournament for a long time and I did not want to disappoint,” the current president of TGR stated.

Paguio also shared how they had sought assistance from companies such as the Southeast Asian gaming company, AcadArena in an effort to gain recognition from the community and the school administration.

Hearing their pleas, the administrators gave the club a chance to become a recognized organization through becoming a course organization but was soon met with unfavorable conditions for their structure as a team Paguio also added.

“It was not feasible considering our players are from different colleges, and the first step to get a university org permit is for us to be a college-based org for three years first,” Paguio stated.

Out for Glory

When asked about what to expect from the team in the upcoming historical event, both parties assured that TGR will continue to showcase their skill and prove to the Thomasian community that they will be standing strong and that they will be out for glory in the inaugural UAAP Esports Tournament.

Despite changes to his squad, Ignacio stated that as long as players follow and trust in the system that he and his coaching staff are implementing, his MLBB squad can guarantee a spot in the podium places.

“Even if some of our key players aren’t able to play for [the] UAAP, that doesn’t mean that we can’t train these newfound players into high high caliber ones as well… As long as we follow the system, we follow the process, we respect each other, and we continue working hard, I think it's impossible that we finish below third,” the MLBB coach and founder stated.

Sixteen players with two representatives from each university, will be divided into two pools, with the top two players of each pool advancing to the final four on Aug. 13-14 at the Doreen Fernandez Black Box, Areté inside the ADMU campus.

UST will be joining UE, UP, and NU for the Valorant event which will take place from Aug.13 to Aug. 15 at the same venue.

Finally, Ignacio and his squad will be jockeying with Adamson, UE, and UP in group A and will see action on Aug. 17-20 at the Hyundai Hall, Areté in ADMU.