THE rivalry between La Salle and Ateneo will once again ignite as the two powerhouses open their UAAP Esports VALORANT tournament campaigns against each other today, Tuesday, at Hyundai Hall in Areté inside the Ateneo campus.
Viridis Arcus Esports, led by coach Xavier Juan, enters the tournament as the inaugural top dogs, boasting five championships.
Juan, who has made waves in the professional scene with Oasis Gaming–recent champions of the Predator League Philippines–brings his expertise and winning mentality to La Salle.
Juan, also the former team captain of Viridis Arcus Esports, is confident that his squad is the team to watch, given their history of success during his tenure as a player. However, he remains firm that the focus is on training, with the goal of adding another championship to their legacy.
“On average, we trained six hours a day. We have the best mechanics and raw talent among the other teams. Coming into the tournament, the real enemy would be ourselves,” said a resolute Juan.
In the UAAP VALORANT Tournament, the eight-team pool is divided into two groups of four.
Each group will compete in a single-round robin best-of-two series, where a 2-0 win earns three points, a 1-1 series draw earns one point, and a 0-2 loss earns no points. The top two teams from each group will advance to the crossover semifinals.
La Salle is in Group A along with Far Eastern University, Adamson University, and Ateneo.
Group B includes University of Santo Tomas, University of the Philippines, National University, and University of the East.
The UAAP VALORANT Tournament kicks off with the FEU-Adamson matchup at 11:30 a.m., followed by the UP-NU and UE-UST matches. The highly anticipated La Salle-Ateneo showdown will close out the opening day.
The UAAP Esports NBA2K Tournament also begins today at 11:30 a.m. at Doreen Fernandez Black Box also at Arete, with a total of 28 matches scheduled for the day.
