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    SOTY Awards: Smart Omega CODM is SPIN.ph Breakthrough Team of the Year

    Comeback kings returned to the top of the scene in breakthrough year
    Dec 28, 2022
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    CALL 2022 their comeback year… and this squad, the comeback kings.

    This team’s vengeful gusto is even emblazoned across the collar of the black-and-gold jerseys they wore in the Call of Duty Mobile World Championships, held earlier this month in North Carolina.

    For many of the veterans in the team, this year’s CODM Worlds wasn’t supposed to be their first rodeo in the biggest stage in CODM esports. In their first year together as a squad, they emerged as the top team in Southeast Asia, booking a ticket to the Call of Duty Mobile World Championships, to be held in December 2020 in Los Angeles.

    But the ongoing pandemic lockdowns meant the team had to stay put. And their dream of representing the country in the fast-growing esport of CODM remained just that: a dream.

    Their spirited start seemed to stutter the following year. While powerhouse esports organization Smart Omega would snap them up, they were overshadowed by their longstanding rivals, Blacklist Ultimate.

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    But their competitive spirit seemed to be re-energized with the arrival of two new additions to their roster: Ronan “Rage” Eleria and Jonnel “R1sky” Buemio.

    “Yung dinala nila is naging unpredictable kami,” said squad mainstay Jerrold “Woopiiee” Regay to Spin.ph. “Sila yung nag-solve ng puzzle namin as a team.”

    Wooppiee himself had to step into a new role in 2022, emerging as the squad’s leader. “Ako yung nagha-hype up sa team,” he said of his weighty responsibility. “As a captain, syempre ikaw yung tinitingnan nila. Mas nag-doble yung practice ko, para pag nakita nila na nagdo-double practice yung captain nila, ba’t hindi ako nagpa-practice katulad niya?”

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      Smart Omega CODM emerges from rebuilding phase stronger than ever

      Beginning with Rage’s entry back in May, and then R1sky’s acquisition two months later, trophies fell like dominoes against the squad’s second wind. Garena Masters Season 2. Garena Masters Season 3. The Nationals. And, of course, there was their second-place finish at the CODM Regional Qualifiers, which earned them their ticket to this year’s Worlds.

      But the team seemed to once again experience a bad case of deja vu. Visa and documentation problems hounded Barangay Omega, threatening to pull the rug — once again — from their CODM Worlds dreams.

      Just when things looked bleak, congressmen Luis Raymund Villafuerte Jr., Miguel Luis Villafuerte, and Tsuyoshi Anthony Horibata swept in for the last-minute save. One surreal appearance at the Batasang Pambansa later, and the team was off to North Carolina.

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      Unfortunately, Smart Omega CODM finished the tournament at 5th-6th place, eliminated by North American team Tribe Gaming at the lower bracket. Nevertheless, it doesn’t overshadow the spectacular comeback plan that they prepared, prayed for, and executed throughout this year.

      It was a “rebuilding phase,” according to team coach Bruce “Dev1ce” Cruz. “Nung nag-introduce kami ng new element [...] it made them better. And from then on, tuloy-tuloy na.”

      Fellow coach Jericho Arambulo credits the organization, and how the team feels the spirit of Barangay Omega.

      “I think that’s one thing that separates Omega as an org from all the other orgs. Family talaga yung makakuha mo rito,” he said.

      For their spectacular comeback story, Smart Omega CODM is recognized by SPIN.ph as the Breakthrough Team of 2022 for its annual Sportsman of the Year (SOTY) awards.

      WATCH full video here.

      Get more of the latest sports news & updates on SPIN.ph

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