REX REGUM Qeon Philippines (RRQ PH) made the Philippines proud after they finished at the 5th-8th place in the inaugural Wild Rift Icons Global Championship 2022. The lone Philippine representative in the global tournament bowed out of the competition after their loss against China’s top 1 team, FunPlus Phoenix (FPX) during the knockout stage last July 1, 2022.

The tournament included 24 teams from 8 different regions and boasted a huge prizepool of $2,000,000 USD. The eight participating regions in the Wild Rift Icons Global Championship include: (1) Wild Rift League (WRL), (2) Wild Rift Champions SEA (WCS), (3) Wild Rift Champions Korea (WCK), (4) Wild Rift North America Series (WNS), (5) Wild Rift Open Latinoamerica (WOL), (6) Wild Tour Brasil (WBR), (7) Wild Rift Japan Cup (WJC), and (8) Wild Rift EMEA Championship (WEC).

RRQ PH Defies the Odds

As the third seed from Wild Rift Champions Southeast Asia (WCS), RRQ PH started their journey in the Play-ins stage in group B together with JD Gaming, Unsold Stuff Gaming, and STMN Esports. The play-in stage was composed of 16 teams divided into four groups of four teams. Each group was played in a double elimination bracket. The top 2 teams from each group advanced to the group stage. RRQ PH was able to enter the group stage after they fought their way against Unsold Stuff Gaming in the decider match to secure the second seed in their respective group.

The champions from each of the 8 participating regions were placed directly in the group stage. Together with the 8 teams from the play-in stage, the 16 teams were divided into four groups of four teams. RRQ PH was placed in Group B along with J Team, Sengoku Gaming, and Team Queso. The group stage was also played in a double-elimination bracket where the top two teams advanced to the playoffs. In the decider match, RRQ PH battled WJC’s champion, Sengoku Gaming and entered the knockout stage after a 2-0 victory.

The knockout stage saw RRQ PH pitted against China’s number one team and the WRL champions, FunPlus Phoenix. It was an uphill fight but RRQ PH showed that they can go toe-to-toe against the tournament favourites. In the end, FPX was too much for the Philippine squad and sent them home after a 0-3 loss against the Chinese team. They ended their Wild Rift Icons Global Championship stint in the 5th-8th place. It was a good run for RRQ PH squad who proudly raised the Philippine flag on the international stage of Wild Rift.

RRQ PH team is composed of Janold “Devil J” Gonzales, Charles “Chazz” Esguerra, Sean “Helios” Palisoc, Marc “Marky” Ilagan, Eric “Exosen” Gubatan”, and Mark “Maze” Galang with their head coach, Jon Lance “Kaigu” Hernandez, and assistant coach, John Mark “3finger” Dualan. They will bring home no less than $80,000 USD.