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CEBU CITY - The Philippines has had many monikers in its history, but when it comes to fighting games, it is known as a "Tekken Country", in reference to the local popularity of Bandai Namco's Tekken franchise. For the leg held on September 22, it came down to hometown hero UFTC|Gogoy and Gio, the winner of the Lower Bracket. Gogoy is no stranger to Tekken and its current incarnation, Tekken 7. The Cebuano veteran has been one of the fighting game community's well-known members. For the Road to The Nationals, Gogoy rode high to his Top 8 finish, and had to defeat his friend and training partner, PBE|Bully, in order to secure the coveted twice-to-beat advantage heading into the Finals. His opponent Gio, travelled from Bacolod in the hopes of winning the tournament. Having been sent to the Lower Bracket by Gogoy, Gio took on the difficult task of fighting through the lower pools; including powering through Bully, his penultimate assignment on the way to the top. The stage was set for Gio's Master Raven to face off against Gogoy's Xiaoyu. In match 1 of the first round, Gogoy delivered a masterclass on Xiaoyu, executing mixups and combos to the T. While Gio was able to sneak in two wins, Gogoy was able to secure that round with back-to-back Perfects. In the third and fourth round, Gio manages to hang on as he delivered a spirited rout despite Gogoy's mixups, extending the Grand Finals of the Cebu Leg. However, Gogoy never lost his cool despite a few greedy lapses and ended the first-ever Tekken 7 leg of the Road to The Nationals in style, defeating Gio from Bacolod with a perfect in the third round to become the Cebu representative. Gogoy will now wait on the representatives from the following Tekken 7 legs: Sept. 29: Gamepatch, Davao Sept. 30: Captain Poi's Game House, Cagayan De Oro Oct. 6: Playbook Gaming Lounge + Book Shop, Makati Oct. 13: Secret Base, Marikina Oct. 14: Playbook Gaming Lounge + Book Shop, Makati
 "The Road to The Nationals was created with a goal to discover and showcase the best gaming talent that our country has to offer. The esports universe is vast, and largely driven by its different gaming communities. The inclusion of Tekken 7 is part of our efforts to provide ample representation for fighting games, and to give fans the action-packed, entertaining matches that they deserve," said Vincent P. Reyes, President and CEO of TV5 and one of the proponents for the tournament. "Having Tekken 7 included in the lineup for Road to The Nationals is the first step to bring our vision of getting our local talents to a bigger stage. We're a Tekken Country, and it's only fitting we cultivate and challenge our players in preparation for the ultimate goal: reaping medals at the Olympics," Joebert Yu, President of the Esports National Association of the Philippines (ESNAP), added. The Road to The Nationals DOTA Qualifiers and Tekken 7 Qualifiers are both ESNAP sanctioned events. As the first Tekken 7 leg of the Road to The Nationals was happening, the Bacolod leg of the DOTA 2 tournament was being played at TNC Bacolod. Cebuano team Voyager finally picked the W over Bacolod team Viggo.net. Voyager was initially unsuccessful in their bid to become the Cebu representatives, but found their second chance in Bacolod. Voyager will join Quid Pro Quo, Davao's Pride, Sterling Global Dragons, and Polar Ace as the fifth team to go appear at ESGS 2018 for the Road To The Nationals DOTA 2 Finals. The remaining DOTA 2 legs for The Road To The Nationals will be on September 29 at LocalHost Café in IloIlo and October 13 at UGZ in Imus, Cavite. For more details about The Road to The Nationals and The Nationals, visit http://thenationalsph.com.
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