MANILA—Six newbies of Pampanga-based gaming team Skyville will fly to Jakarta this month after they defeated BRZ Gaming to win the Philippine qualifiers for the 2017 New Bloods Championships held at Samsung Hall of SM Aura Premiere on Saturday.

The team — composed of Angelo de Paula (Efking), Matt Pangilinan (supaTakz!), Josef Leonard (JL Cris), Carlos Lachica (Sirc), Julius Mendoza Galeon (JG), and Chris Ian Francis Maldo (CTY) — will take home $1,000 (roughly P50,000) after topping 15 other DOTA 2 groups in the 2-day competition.

"Di namin expected na makukuha namin ito kasi iyong kalaban magagaling. We just did our best to play and dedicate it to the Lord. Iyon ang talagag foundation namin," said team coach Roy Rebuta, who is proud of the roster that was formed only in January.

Skyville, an organization formed in 2008, has been competing in local and national DOTA tournaments for a while. Some of its players have already slugged it out against the likes of Mineski in the Mineski Pro-Gaming League. But this is their first time to compete in the international scene.

"There's nervousness from the team but we're very excited especially because we're going to represent the Philippines," said team manager Bryan Altes.

"One month ago we already trained a lot. We studied strategies, out strategies and other teams' strategies. We're not fully ready yet but we're in the process of getting ready. But I think our team can do it."

If Skyville newbies make it to the top 2 of the New Blood Championships Grand Finale in Jakarta, they will be one of the two teams that will battle it out against pro gaming teams from different counties in a wildcard round, a possible ticket to the major event, Galaxy Battles II, which offers a $1-million (roughly P50 million) prize pool.

-- 'DOTA capital' Philippines to host Galaxy Battles II --

The wild card round will be held in the Philippines as part of the bigger "Galaxy Battles II: Emerging Worlds" tournament in January 2018. The event is slated at the 60,000-seat Philippine Arena as organizers aim to set the record for e-sports attendees.

"We're going for the Guinness Book of World Records in Manila because you guys are DOTA capital, everyone loves it, everyone is excited . . . We'll give Manila a new meaning for DOTA 2." said Adrian Gaffor, managing director of Fallout Gaming.

The main event of the second season of Galaxy Battles, which will be on January 19 to 21, will feature 16 pro gaming teams from different parts of the world. This will be the first major gaming event of 2018.

TNC Pro Team will also participate in the tournament as 1 of the 8 invited teams. Newbee, Peruvian team, Infamous Gaming and OG are some of the teams invited.

Aside from the tournament area, organizers will also be setting up an entertainment zone inside the Philippine Arena compound, wherein people will get the chance to see their favorite local artists perform live during the 3-day event.

There will also be a Disneyland-like "DOTA 2" theme park, something that has never been done before, a venue where fans of one of the biggest games in the world can truly immerse themselves.

"What we want to create here is a new experience. When you come down, you just don't watch DOTA but you can feel it, you can live it, you can act on it as well," Gaffor said. —With reports from Mark Demayo, ABS-CBN News