REIGNITING the fire on the Valorant scene, the well-known Philippine esports team BREN which consists of: Jim Timbreza (BORKUM), Jessie Cristy Cuyco (JessieVash), Jayvee Paguirigan (Dubstep), Kevin Te (Dispenser), Riley Go (witz), and the newest member Anthony Roque (whoME), trailblaze their way through the Valorant Champions Tour (VCT) 2021 Challengers where they must collect “seeds” to advance and qualify for the “VCT 2021 Masters” Their journey lasted from January to September and was held via online platforms Twitch and Youtube.

BREN’s first event was the “VCT 2021: Philippines Stage 1 Challengers 1 - Open Qualifier.” The team went against Sierra Esports Atlas with a score of 13-8, in favor of BREN. From this victory, BREN received a Challengers 1 Seed which is their ticket to the next event.

Lighting the Match

After qualifying for the next event, BREN played in the Philippines Stage 1 Challengers 1 event. This event showcased the power of BREN as they displayed an undefeated win through the three matchups against Sierra Esports Atlas (2-0), Dreamfyre (2-0), and Empire Esports (3-0) from the quarterfinals to the grand finals match, respectively. BREN received a monetary prize and the sought-after Challengers 2 Seed.  

Fire Kept Burning

BREN’s consecutive wins during the Challengers 1 event enabled them to play on the Stage 1 Challengers 2 event. BREN still proved excellence winning all three challenging victory matches against Org Not Found (2-1), Oasis Gaming (2-0), and ArkAngel (3-1) for the quarterfinals, which qualified them for the grand finals. BREN’s success for this Challenger 2 event was led by the gunplay of MVPs JessieVash and Dubstep, securing the prize pool, as well as the Masters Seed.

The Heat of the Journey

Earning the Masters Seed from the previous event, BREN battled in the Southeast Asia (SEA) Stage 1 Masters event where it faced Boom Esports head to head in the quarterfinals with a 2-1 result, in favor of Boom Esports. However, Dispenser, Borkum, and Dubstep secured the 20 VCT Circuit Points for BREN. 

BREN’s skill was tested in the following event, Philippines Stage 2 Challengers 1, with close-call victory matches against Sierra Esports Atlas (2-1) and SV Empire (2-1). In their battle against Hashira,  BREN came short with a score of 3-2. BREN advances to the grand finals match with the prize pool and the Challengers 2 Seed. 

Fighting the Good Fight

An all-kill victory for BREN was seen in their matches with Walkure (2-0), Alpha Esports Pro (2-0), and SV Empire (3-0) during the Stage 2 Challenger 2 event. Witz, Dubstep, and Borkum were hailed as MVPs from the quarterfinals to the grand final match, earning the SEA Challengers Finals Seed. 

BREN fought a good fight during the Challengers Finals. The team won against Boom Esports (2-0) in the Upper Bracket Quarterfinals and lost in the Upper Bracket Semi-Finals and Lower Bracket Round 3. Still, BREN secured the $3,250 prize pool, as well as 30 VCT Circuit Points. 

BREN battled its way to victory during the Philippines Stage 3 Challengers 1 event. The team was matched against DR Esports (2-1), SV Empire (2-1), and Galaxy Racer (3-1). Dispenser was also seen using Agent Killjoy for strategic play in one of their games. BREN took home the prize pool, together with the SEA Challengers Playoffs Seed.

Masters in Sight

After the success in previous games, BREN finally enters the SEA Stage 3 Challengers Playoffs. BREN conquered the Group Stage with Dubstep stepping up as the MVP during the games against CBT Gaming and Alter Ego. In their game against Sharper Esport that reached an overtime, Dispenser also led the team to a 2-0 victory.

BREN moved onto the playoffs from Upper Bracket Quarterfinals with CERBERUS (2-0), Upper Bracket Semi-Finals against Team Big BAAM (2-0), and lost in the Upper Bracket Final match against Paper Rex (2-1). These results forced BREN to compete in the Lower Bracket Final, where it won against Alter Ego (2-0). Finally, BREN reached the grand finals, battling against Paper Rex once more in a series of five where BREN took the win in a 3-0 score, led by MVPs Dispenser, Borkum, and Dubstep. The team received the $25,000 prize and a spot for the Masters event after bagging the Masters Berlin Seed.

Winners in Defeat

Unfortunately, BREN could not acquire travel visas and thus could not compete in the Masters Berlin event. However, this did not stop the team as Jessie “JessieVash” Cristy Cuyco, Jayvee “DubsteP” Paguirigan, Jim “BORKUM” Timbreza, Kevin “Dispenser” Te, Riley “witz” Go, and Coach Gilbert “Gibo” Sales Jr. was set to sign with Team Secret, a European esports organization. With this, the promise is that the prowess of the most anticipated Valorant Team in the Philippines will be seen again soon on the international stage.