UAAP Esports: Inside Team Struggles and Dynamics
By Niklas Arriola and Erica Ann Villasorda
With the University Athletic Association of the Philippines (UAAP) inaugural esports tournament just around the corner, it’s high time we get to know the players from different universities beyond their jerseys.
Before the cameras flash and the games air on live telecast, let us get a sneak peek of what it means to be an esports student athlete, online and offline.
ALSO READ:
The Daily Grind
Time management. Sacrifices. Passion.
These three words sum up most of the players’ answers when asked about how they juggle both academics and esports. Just like other student-athletes, these players also face the struggle of having to balance both worlds, especially now that the season is fast approaching.
As for Aaron Sablay, the In-Game Leader of De La Salle University’s Valorant team and an Applied Economics student, aside from time management and planning priorities and deadlines ahead of time, he also attributes his balancing acads and esports skill to coffee.
“Caffeine talaga kasi after attending classes, medyo pagod na yung brain mo so you can’t function as optimally. So what I do, I drink coffee for studying and then after that, if we have practice [by] the night, I also drink one to ensure na gising pa ako and I can still perform well,” Aaron explained.
For Robby Miguel Martin, the Gold Laner of National University’s Mobile Legends: Bang Bang (MLBB) team who is also a Marketing Management major, the hardest part of being an esports player and being a student at the same time is the stress that they have to go through during trainings and in balancing everything all at once.
“Hindi ito tulad ng [physical] sports na pawis at dugo ‘yung inaalay. Dito sa esports, dugo tsaka stress. Pressure din, minsan. Syempre maraming players yung naghahangad ng spot, so kailangan mo mas galingan,” Robby added.
(This is not like the [physical] sports where they give their sweat and blood. Here in esports, it costs you blood and stress. Even pressure, sometimes. Of course, there are many players out there who want the spot, so you have to step up your game.)
Esports will also make you sacrifice sleep, this is what Adamson University’s MLBB Team Captain and Civil Engineering student Jayvee Buenviaje said when asked how he balances everything. He even emphasized that inevitably, there will be times when conflict in schedules will arise, especially if tournaments and exams or quizzes fall on the same dates.
When this happens, Jayvee emphasized that it is very important to have supportive and considerate professors who understand the plight of student-athletes like him. He said that his professors are so supportive that some of them move the exams when it coincides with their tournaments.
Isolating both worlds also worked for Benedict Dasas, an Electronics Engineering student and Valorant Rookie Player of the University of the Philippines.
“Pag nasa campus ako, doon lang ako nag-aaral talaga,” he said.
In his free time on campus, he goes to the library to study so that when he gets home, that’s when he practices with his team. Benedict highlighted the importance of separating and isolating both worlds to find the balance between and if there will be overlaps, which is not impossible, he makes sure that he faces it in his free time especially if it’s about his academics.
It’s very important to note that these players are also students who are doing their very best to win, not only in the games where they will represent their respective universities, but also in their academic life because nothing beats the victory of getting a hold of that precious diploma.
Co-op Connection
While the competition is the biggest roadblock that every school has to topple in order to reach the championship, the months before the tournament season has been a beast of its own.
As the pre-season rolled in last March, gaming organizations from the different schools were hard at work in preparations for the tournament. Tryouts had to be conducted to scout promising contenders. The search for the coaching staff was also one of their concerns.
Team managers had to plan out the final roster, which involved cutting and benching talents to bring out the best of the best.
UE’s VALORANT coach Nathan Nioda, known at the pro scene as “Nateflix”, shares that aside from skill, a player’s ability to listen to their peers is what separates a casual gamer from a team player.
“Pagnapili ka sa team, that means this is for you. So, if you’re not coachable, this [team] is not for you.” He added, pointing at communication as one of the vital factors for a winning team’s formula.
For games Mobile Legends and VALORANT, the squads had to act as a unit in order to go far in these types of competitions. Team chemistry is vital in order to keep teams from collapsing in the endgame.
Scrimmages serve as a platform to survey which players gel with each other and what kinks had to be ironed out in terms of gameplay and approach.
Taking advantage of the summer break, coach Nathan and his crew had been engaging in scrims, ranging from 2 to 4 games on a daily basis. Their practices would start at 8 PM until midnight to ensure that everyone in the team is present.
Additionally, the UE mentor had yet to book a scrimmage against schools from the UAAP lineup in order to preserve their execution and style of play until the tournament itself. They had been facing off against teams around Asia to pick up new strategies from various levels of play.
The same approach goes for De La Salle University’s Viridis Arcus, who has been encountering professional teams outside the country while testing out their new strategies on the collegiate level as well.
Despite the tournament’s 1v1 approach for NBA2K, players also put a big factor on teamwork as the games are fast approaching. Ateneo’s Paolo Medina explained that while they would be facing their battles alone, the players need each other to excel at greater heights.
“I feel like the chemistry here is seen through the scrimmages we play against each other and the preparations we had to make the other one even better.” shared the captain.
Trust can also be built offline, with teams sharing meals outside or even just chatting as they log off the servers.
“Pag may bond na kayo outside the game, madali na lang yon buoin inside the game.” shared Arjohn Roxas, the captain of the ML:BB squad of the Teletigers.
“Lagi ko silang inaaya sa labas kahit wala nako pera,” he jokingly added, recalling the times he would gather his teammates around campus to join them for lunch, strengthening a friendship that has connected them to winning numerous titles.
Unseen Battles
Adding on to the academic workloads and practices, the journey towards the UAAP Esports Tournament hasn’t been smooth sailing to say the least.
For FEU’s NBA2K duo Nehemiah Maninit and Justin Lagmay, losing has been a huge part of their preparations especially being pitted against high-level veterans in their tune-up games.
While the concept of “tilting” or being in a bad state of playing is something that a lot of players struggle against, the pair has built up their resilience overtime to turn their losses into lessons.
For Nem, he looks at the ways he can improve at the (virtual) court, doubling down on his mistakes in order to create better decisions in the future. “Nadudurog yung pride [ko], pero mas gusto ko yung ganon. I can look back agad and improve at it.”
Justin, on the other hand, sees it in a different perspective as a notch towards greatness not only as a gamer, but a person as a whole. “Losing is also a part of the success, even if it is in playing [the game] or not.”
While the mental fortitude has to be tough like steel, physical strength can directly affect a player’s performance nonetheless. Despite facing his stacked list of responsibilities, Ceanne Manalastas makes sure that sufficient hours of sleep are always checked on his schedule.
“Alam na po natin na mga gamers, nagpupuyat talaga mga yan pero syempre kailangan po matulog sa tamang oras,” said Ceanne, before adding up that eye strain and loss of focus usually occurs when he competes in sleep-deprived state.
Ceanne also explained that during practices and pocket tournaments, the added factors of commute and the weather throw a wrench in their plans that they have to persevere through.
As the long road towards this journey comes to its final stop at Arete, all the time, effort and sacrifices made by these individuals will come into fruition as they clash at one of the most prestigious collegiate scenes the country has to offer.
