Pacific.Wara: A Shadow of Glory

Once upon a time, people both in the Philippine and in the international scene considered Pacific.Wara to be the Philippines’ best CrossFire team. With methodical gameplay, mind-blowing strats and decent aim, only the best international teams can beat them in tournaments - Wara proved this to the world back in the first two seasons of the CrossFire Stars Grand Finals.

Then, Pacific.Macta came, and a rivalry has begun between these two teams. Though Wara eventually ran out of steam in the end as the Macta side broke out into the open, it was good and amazing to watch while it lasted.

However, age has finally taken its toll as Pacific.Wara is increasingly being pushed out of the podium by younger and hungrier teams such as TNC FPS (those who are following Dota 2 have clearly saw that they did at this year’s edition of The International) as well as G1.Parak and Strategic AC Gaming, among others.

Before their light fades away, it is important to note that their legacy in the history of Philippine CrossFire is crucial as they allowed the Philippine CF scene to retain its relevance in international tournaments while at the same time presenting some innovations in strategy, including the patented “perma flash execute” that allowed them to take the middle portion of Mexico and Port, as well as the “quick peek entries” on Mexico.

Though they may never become as legendary as the MSI-EvoGT lineup or even the current squad of Pacific.Macta, their strengths have left a permanent mark on how Philippine CrossFire is played.


Mark “Kram” Kervin Chan: Anchoring a Filipino Legacy

In a previous article, I explained that most people think of Christian “REVENGE” Amores or Dennis “BAYO” Ramos when talking about Pacific.Macta.

Everyone wants to attack and to get to the top of the leaderboards. Many want to pick up the sniper rifle and create those highlight reel-worthy plays on the server. Still, some people want to be captains of teams and be remembered for the strategies that they have created or the plays that they refined in their career.

Almost nobody wants to be a support player. Who wants the drudgery of being at the bottom of the scoreboard? Who wants to be forced to wait at a corner and try to trade kills competently while at the same time throw the next-level grenades that will allow his/her team to win the crucial rounds?

Mark “Kram” Kervin Chan does all of these. In addition, he is able to time his flanks properly in such a way that he is able to impact the flow of a round even if his teammates are at a disadvantage. Furthermore, he is able to do next-level peeks and control his own tempo, making sure that he is able to get the necessary information so that his team can shine in a certain map.

Yes, it is true that he is unable to retake a site by himself. Yes, he may not have the best aim in the game. Yes, he may not do a lot of those highlight clips when playing CrossFire.

But his contributions to the team are worth their weight in gold. Pacific.Macta knows very well that without Kram sacrificing his individual prowess to make his team work, they will never reach the level that they are at right now.
And Paciifc.Macta would do well not to forget that fact.


TNC FPS: A Fountain of Potential

While Pacific.Macta is known for their aim-heavy playstyle and Pacific.Wara has a tendency to rely heavily on strats, there is a team out there that tries to make their gameplay work, regardless of the lineup that they have.

TNC Pro Team is the number two CrossFire team in the Philippines right now, and despite the fact that they’ve had different lineups for 2015 and 2016, each of these lineups never missed a top three placing, which is huge considering how competitive the Philippine Crossfire scene can be.

The first lineup was headed by Keith “KEITH” Pace, a player who hails from Butuan, a small city in the southern part of the Philippines. His teammates also come from the same city, and they completely surprised the Philippine CrossFire scene by taking third place at the 2015 CrossFire Stars National Finals, just behind Wara and Macta.

After Keith and his friends decided to go to greener pastures in real life, TNC Pro Team reformed under the watch of its current captain and legendary player Jupiter Mars “ELGEE” Gaboy. They are currently among the top three teams in the Philippine scene and they are looked upon by many to be the ones who can finally end Macta’s domination of the local scene.

When the two captains were asked about their secret recipe, they both told the author that “they valued team chemistry and discipline” in their respective teams.

Seems like a good lesson for many aspiring CrossFire players and teams out there, no?

ruLegends.OK.ru: A Quick Overview

It is time to fear the Russian onslaught.

Many have simply dismissed ruLegends.OK.ru in the current season of the international CrossFire pro circuit; after all, they have registered several quarter-final appearnces and is yet to appear in a major CrossFire Stars grand final.

Their gamestyle is completely identical and familiar to those who are playing from the CIS region: cold, aggressive and daring. They are not afraid to take the aim duels and they are not afraid to use brute force to crack into a site - something which even the top Chinese teams have noticed.

Though they were stuck in the semi-finals after losing in a heroic series against Philippines’ very own Pacific.Macta, they were able to show signs of power by pushing North American team 3sUP.Carbon out of the tournament as well as taking the rest of the competition to uncomfortably close scorelines.

Yes, their gameplay may be unrefined, their tactics may look like a hit-or-miss roulette and their players may be inconsistent as hell, but one thing is sure:

These Russians are here to stay.

And if they hit the right note in their individual form and tactical consistency, they might be the ones who can push the Chinese out of contention for the coveted trophy.

They have the potential to win big. They only have to find it inside themselves.