Smart Omega e-sports players Haze, Heath battle in Ping Pong challenge

When the pandemic forced the sudden change of almost everything to online, e-sports took a big leap forward as contact sports have been prohibited amidst the different quarantine measures imposed in each locality around the country. Apparently, there was an enormous increase not only in the number of players having interest in the game, but also in the fans watching the matches online and supporting the players.

Now, days before the playoffs of the Mobile Legend Bang Bang Professional League – Philippines Season 7, two individual champions from the Smart Omega Esports rise to the challenge and cool down a little from their intense training to fight for pride in the only virtual Olympics with a twist – Smart E-lympics.

In the sixth episode of the competition, Haze and Heath, two respected and popular young men in the world of e-sports with legion of fans behind their back go toe-to-toe and will try to “slain an enemy” not in the mobile legend but on a game called Ping Pong Challenge.

Jeniel Bata-anon or Haze is the MPL Season 1 Champion, SEA Games gold medalist, MPL Season 2 and Season 6 1^st runner-up, MSC 2018 champion, The Nationals 1-time champion while Heath or EJ Esperanza in real life is the MPL Season 2 and Season 4 2^nd Runner-up, 2-time The Nationals champion, MPL Season 6 1^st runner-up, Juicy Legends Pro Division champion, and Just ML 6-time champion.

As the game progresses, both players maximize the three cups aligned horizontally and flashes competitive spirit by executing different strategies to make the ping pong ball go inside one of the cups. They tried bouncing the ball first on the table and at times they just shot it directly to the cup. Nevertheless, nobody gave an inch and at the end of the 1-minute mark the score is tied at 3-3.

In the tie-breaker round, where there is only one cup to serve as basket and the winner is determined on whoever makes the first basket, both players get off to a sluggish start as they miss their first four shots. However, Heath found his rhythm just in time and made it on his fifth attempt to seal the victory and advance to the next round of the competition.

Haze and Heath’s Smart Omega Esports is one of the remaining eight teams that is still in title-hunt in the Mobile Legend Bang Bang Professional League – Philippines Season 7 and will meet Aura PH on May 26 at 6PM to start their playoffs contention.

Catch Smart E-lympics every Wednesday and Saturday at seven in the evening on the Facebook page and Youtube channel of Smart Sports.