Arjohn Roxas Spent Years Proving to UST That Esports Is Worth Believing In

For four years, Arjohn Roxas chased the championship that he believed could finally make UST impossible to overlook in esports. But as his own collegiate journey came to an end, the fight became bigger than the titles he won or the one that eluded him.

Roxas began looking beyond his final season and toward the players who would come after him, hoping they would inherit an esports program with the support, opportunities, and recognition his generation spent years chasing.

Because sometimes, the greatest legacy is not the championship you won, but the future you help make possible for those who come next.

A Champion for Something Bigger

In 2022, Roxas entered UST as a first-year student with little more than his passion for Mobile Legends: Bang Bang and a desire to compete.

But somewhere along the way, proving himself stopped being enough. He wanted a championship to make UST realize that esports deserved recognition.

Winning was supposed to be the proof.

If UST could compete with and defeat the strongest collegiate teams, then perhaps the university would see the potential of its esports program.

Yet the recognition he hoped for remained out of reach.

Unrequited Hard Work

In 2024, the UST Teletigers Esports Club had established itself as a formidable force in the collegiate esports scene. They captured the Alliance Games MetroWest and Smart University Clash Season 2 titles. After that came a silver-medal finish in the inaugural season of the UAAP Esports.

In 2025, they claimed bronze in the UAAP Esports before winning the Alliance Games MetroWest title once again, the final trophy Roxas would lift during his collegiate career.

The team had the talent and results to compete at the highest level, and during those times, Roxas hoped that UST would notice them and give them benefits like their other athletes.

“Ang mindset ko kasi noon parang kung makaka-champion kami baka mapansin kami ng school. Bigyan kami ng benefits and all,” Roxas said.

Over time, Roxas began seeing how much the collegiate esports landscape was changing around UST.

Other universities had begun investing in their esports programs through scholarships, allowances and boot camps, creating systems that could support players throughout their collegiate careers.

UST, Roxas felt, was missing that same foundation.

For him, it was never simply about receiving more benefits. It was about the difference between a team that could compete when circumstances allowed and a program that could consistently develop players and remain competitive year-round.

The Generation That Comes After

But as Roxas looked toward graduation, his concerns began to move beyond his own career.

Most of his teammates were also reaching the end of their collegiate careers. That left him thinking about the players who would come after them and whether they would still want to represent UST knowing what they had experienced.

“Paano na ‘yung mga bago?” he asked.

That question lingered as Roxas’ time at UST drew to a close.

Roxas had spent four years watching UST esports grow — from winning with TGR to representing the university on the UAAP stage.

He had seen how far UST had come and he did not want that progress to stop with his generation.

But after witnessing the growth of esports firsthand, he believes the university also needs to recognize the opportunities esports can provide.

“Siguro time na rin para sa UST na makita na magandang avenue yung esports para makilala na malakas din yung UST sa esports,” Roxas said. 

“Kasi historically naman talaga, malakas talaga yung UST pagdating sa esports. Sadyang marami na talaga umalis dahil sa lack ng motivation dahil doon sa management o dahil doon sa benefits,” he continued.

What He Wants to Leave Behind

Now that Roxas has graduated, he knows that someone will have to carry the expectations that once rested on him.

He hopes UST will eventually see esports not simply as another competition, but as an avenue through which the university can build another successful tradition.

He hopes the players who follow will not have to rely on passion alone to keep the program alive.

Most of all, he hopes that they will have opportunities his generation did not.

For four years, Roxas chased championships because he wanted UST to notice what its esports teams could become.

Now, outside the university, his hope is no longer simply to see his generation remembered. He wants the players who come next to inherit the opportunities his generation had to fight for.

And perhaps that is the legacy Roxas leaves behind — not a championship, but a reminder that UST esports has a future worth investing in.

“Sana nagawa ko yung part ko kahit na last season ko na ngayon, kahit na kinapos, kahit hindi nag-champion, kahit papaano may naipakita na ako sa UST na may future yung esports sa UST,” Roxas concluded.

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