It was another tremendous milestone for Filipino eSports and gaming as 10,000 gamers and enthusiasts from all over the country converged upon the World Trade Center in Pasay City for Rampage 2016. Already its fifth exciting edition as the biggest one day one game event in the Philippines, it surpassed all other years as an event with relentless eSports action, an innovative cosplay experience and non-stop stage and venue events and attractions that have caught the attenetion and imagination of League of Legends enthusiasts everywhere.
arkadymac.com has been an official media partner for Rampage for the third straight year, and our coverage team of Ai Chi, Kuini, Nicolette, Keileen, Jillian and Nicki, with help from Marvin, were there to bring the highlights of this much-anticipated yearly spectacle.
If last year’s edition was any indication, Rampage 2016 was expected to be another phenomenal event from start to finish, and with most of the tickets sold out, the World Trade Center in Pasay City was near capacity with League of Legends players, fans, cosplayers and enthusiasts from all over the country.
It was around 9 AM when they started letting the attendees in, but many have lined up long before that, all eager to witness what Rampage had in store for them. Security was tight, and police and medics were on standby in the event of an emergency.
Not long after the opening, eSports action was already underway with the LoL Collegiate League where teams from different universities from battled it out for top prizes. With exciting commentary provided by great shoutcasters, we witnessed the battle of wits and strategy from the on-stage matches featuring Valkyrie eSports from Trinity University of Asia versus Tres Lang Sapat Na from Mapua Institute of Technology – Makati, then Azure Eagles from Ateneo de Manila University versus Oblation eSports from the University of the Philippines. All the teams showed impressive skills and tactics, but in the end MIT and UP emerged victorious in their respective matches.
A formidable roster of hosts made sure everyone was well informed and excited at Rampage 2016 as Joyce Pring, Kuya Jobert, Kajo and Allyza Taylor shared the honor and duty of being on stage, and at times would have the raffles and giveaways that delighted the audience.
One of the scheduled highlights of Rampage 2016 was the Celebrity Showmatch which would feature various celebrities playing a LoL match on stage. It pitted Team Sapphire, made up of sisters Alodia and Ashley Gosiengfiao, Emman Nimedez, CJ Navato and Kristoffer Martin, against Team Ruby which had Eruption Tai, Shehyee, Jack Reid, Alex Diaz and Yassi Benitez. Members of both teams are relatively new or totally new to the game and have trained only a couple of weeks beforehand at the Garena headquarters. Despite being inexperienced, they still gave the crowd an awesome match which lasted for more than an hour, with the momentum going to and fro amid the wild cheers from everyone in attendance. Smart decisions in the endgame became Team Sapphire’s key to survival and victory against a determined Team Ruby, and they all got to address the excited crowd who were at awe with their display of enthusiasm for the game.
After the match, we were very grateful that the special guests and hosts took the time to have some photos with our team.
The various sponsors like Bacchus, Predator, and A Plus Paint were all instrumental in making Rampage 2016 happen, and they got to have their own segments on stage to show off their latest as well as bring prizes and great news to the audience.
The World Trade Center was shaking and grooving to its foundations as DJ Cathy Frey followed up her phenomenal performance last year which had everyone in attendance on their feet. She whipped the Rampage audience into a frenzy as she played hit after hit, showing why she’s one of the hottest DJs in the city. Fans were dancing, shouting, singing and waving to her beats as she almost literally brought the house down.
Prominent local rock band Rocksteady was there later in the event l to share their brand of rock to the crowd, performing some of their best hits as well as a well-loved cover. Their performance had the audience on their feet, singing along and with their hands in the air.
Rampage is one of the biggest gaming events in the country, and we in the community are happy that the organizers have made cosplay a mainstay of the festivities, with a number of contests cosplayers could join in for a chance to win great prizes just for doing the very thing they love. The new Cosplay Clash had six pre-chosen participants show off their talents and costumes expo style for everyone to see at a and the winners will be partly voted by the audience. They also all got to be on stage for great performance in front of the Rampage crowd. The winners got to take home some huge cash prizes for their tremendous efforts.
The Honorable Wandering Champions was a new incentive for roaming cosplayers at Rampage 2016. Cosplayers could be winners for simply being the best-looking cosplayers roaming the Rampage 2016 event halls., and there were lots of cosplayers who were there to enjoy portraying their favorite League of Legends champions and have fun and lots of pics with the crowd.
Our Cosplay Models Kuini, Ai Chi and Keileen also got to enjoy cosplaying amongst the crowd.
In between matches and program segments, our coverage team had time to check out the attractions at the venue including the Rampage signages and photobooths, as well as booths from the various sponsors, offering lots of giveaways, prizes and cool demonstrations. Everyone’s favorite Merchandise Caravan was there of course to offer all the great goodies the fans are just craving for with a variety of selections
The main event was of course the Pro Gaming Series Finals between Acclaim EmpireX and Imperium Pro Team, facing off at the biggest eSports stage in the Philippines, Rampage 2016. The ultimate underdog ever since the season began, Acclaim EmpireX rose through the ranks, defeating strong teams to reach the finals. It was a daunting task to take on the defending champions Imperium Pro Team, but Acclaim EmpireX’s tenacity and determination had them eke out a 3-1 victory in their best of 5, bringing pride to their native Iloilo as the Pro Gaming Series Champion and earning them the right to represent the Philippines at the Garena Premier League in Vietnam.
Definitely bigger and grander, Rampage 2016 was truly a revelation of scale and scope: a testament to the incredible popularity of the game and the community that has grown around it, with 10,000 in attendance filling the World Trade Center to capacity. We now wonder what even bigger things we will see next year.
Thank you for dropping by, and do visit us again for more features here at arkadymac.com
Please click on an image to view slideshow.
About The Author
