On September 4-6, the Imperium Pro Team will host the Philippine's first ever international tournament featuring both Smash and other FGC games. In order to give more exposure to the tournament, I invited a fellow Philippine TO and one of the organizers of the event, Gelo Morelos aka IPT McArthur, to give us more insight regarding Manila Cup, the Imperium Pro Team and the Philippine scene as a whole.
________________________________________
Popi: Good evening and thanks for agreeing to do an interview with us! Before we start going into the questions about the tournament, tell us a bit about yourself. Who are you aside from being the TO for this event?
McArthur: Hi, I'm IPT.McArthur (IPT stands for Imperium Pro Team for those wondering. IPT has eSports teams in both the PC and Console scenes). I've been playing games competitively since 2003/2004. I started on the Naruto 2D scrolling games on the PS2.
Back then we already had tournaments locally and internationally for that game. I was already competing locally and internationally since then. The games that really evolved me to who I am today in the gaming scene are Blazblue and Guilty Gear. I classify myself as one of the country's top players as I consistently place within the Top 4 of most tournaments since BBCS1 ( Blazblue: Continuum Shift) and GGAC (Guilty Gear Accent Core).
I slowly transitioned into becoming an organizer in 2011 and 2012. I host in-house, console rental shop and convention FGC (Ozine) events. Thanks to me starting of as a hungry competitive player and experience in events both in-houses and in-public venues and of course the right group of friends, I am who I am today.
Popi: Aside from you, who comprises the team that's putting this tournament together? How does your team work in terms of organization?
McArthur: The main FGC organizers of IPT are the following: our boss IPT.Prime, SRK/P2D.D3V, IPT.Arc, IPT.Promilkid, P2D.Krimpai, and myself. Of course we have roles to do. We do best what each do best and as a whole you see the monthly events of the IPT FG league.
Manila Cup is happening thanks to a lot of reasons. First, many thanks to the local players supporting the events! Also, thanks to Capcom for giving us the chance to host Manila Cup and of course, thanks to Imperium.
Popi: So a lot of people have been curious in regards to the organization hosting the event. How did the Imperium Pro Team start?
McArthur: I don't know the specifics on how IPT started, sorry XD
On another note, I saw that IPT was legit in supporting the players and its scene, like real genuine support. This is the hard sad truth. But there were certain groups/events that would appear as false hopes to the FGC public. Thankfully, I can say that the overall PH scene is very much healthy and are focused on levelling up their skills.
Popi: Let's go into the actual tournament! What is the Manila Cup? It's the first Philippine "major international event" right? After all, it's the first Capcom Pro Tour event in the Philippines. What were the challenges your team had to face logistics-wise and how did you get all the sponsors you have currently?
McArthur: Manila Cup is an FGC major to the Capcom Pro Tour Finals / EVO kind of like how WWE's SummerSlam is a PPV leading into Wrestlemania. It is the first official PH FG Major. It's also an international event that anyone can join. Of course if you join for USF4 then you'll have the chance to earn CPT points. Of course since it's a major, it will include other games as well. So we better get ready for the international invasion. I'm hoping to see a lot of PH winners!
So far, logistics-wise we're expanding on everything we have. I believe we already have each stuff required to run a major, and we just had to increase the amount of those stuffs to prepare for the big number of players for manila cup.
As for sponsors? All I can say is.... skills, trust, respect, and knowing the right group of friends will get you a long way.
Skills - You have to be good in a game or in games for people to notice and respect you. Or at least be knowledgeable in the games competitive form. I remember getting negative whispers on my first non BB/GG event that I hosted years ago. Of course, they were unnecessary but I've learned that one way to show that you are genuine and serious in hosting events for a said game is that you have to be strong or at least knowledgeable in it. Being strong in a game tells people that you took the time and effort to study the game. It shows that you are willing to start from 0 and to march with them in the path of strength and glory. Obviously skill in organizing tournaments comes with experience, gadgets, technical know-how and money. I always think on a player's perspective every time an event day is happening. Oh and a notebook/planner helps.
Trust and respect go hand in hand. It is important to always trust and respect the right people from all walks of life and all levels of gaming skill. Through the years, I've experienced and learned that trust and respect will ALWAYS go back to you and the payback is always sweet . As for the "not right people", don't disrespect them. Instead, do nothing. From my experience, it's best to absolutely do nothing to those that pull you or others down. Focus your effort and time on the right people instead. We only live once!
Right group of friends - I forgot to mention "certain" as well. When I was starting in the FGC I could've just been a casual gamer or a player focused on solely improving my own skills. Instead, I had a different goal in mind. It is by no means a higher or better goal than anyone else's but rather a goal set on a different branch (imagine a skill tree in MMO's where I took the TO/Player hybrid tab).
As time went on, I realized that house or rental shop casuals/events will never be enough. I wanted the PH scene to be part of the world's yearly ride of events. I wanted PH players to win. I wanted to win. So, I met the right group of friends. By right, I mean friends that are focused on being better and doing things with integrity. One can only do so much.
For my training, I have my close brothers EHADA. For those I train with, I usually have players visiting my place to train in certain games. Every half a year or year some would "graduate" and new ones would ask me to train them. I met and became friends with the OG "P2D" or Pinoy2DFighters. They've established the local SF scene and has been holding it down and maintaining it up to now. They are tried and tested. They've hosted 3-4 big PH events with 100-200 entrants (with a handful of internationals coming too!). And of course we have the eSports power house Imperium. All of which have the same direction in turning the local scene the best as it can be.
Yeah, I know the answers were off but hey I feel like Santa Claus telling a story right now!
Popi: It's already known that Imperium is one of the only FGC streams in the Philippines. Since there are many games being ran for Manila Cup, what were the logistics about streamers? Were there any extra streamers hired or is everything being done by your team?
McArthur: XSplit streams our events from time to time. The USF4 will be streamed by CapcomFighters while the others will probably be on XSplit or OffCast's twitch channel. Make sure to thank them when you see them at Manila Cup and oh, we're buddies.
Popi: Onto more Smash Brothers related questions, we all know that Smash isn't exactly considered FGC by a lot of people as stated in a few questions earlier. Aside from your monthly events, what were the factors made Imperium decide to pick up Smash not just as a monthly event, but also as a main event in your biggest tournament yet?
McArthur: My personal motto for events is this "As long as people show up, then there will be events for it". Smash has been very consistent with its monthly numbers. The scene is also hungry and very competitive. Of course it will be part of Manila Cup. With regards to: "Smash not being considered part of the FGC"... I mean it's just a label right? I see characters "fighting" so of course I consider it a fighting game
Popi: In regards to the ruleset for S4, Imperium usually runs 2 stocks, 5/6 minutes for Smash 4. For this event however, the ruleset being used is a modified version of the EVO rules with no customs due to a community vote about custom legality. What are the problems (both logistically and gameplay-wise) you see with running customs at tournaments and why do you think the community voted against having them at the event?
McArthur: I don't think there will be logistics problem with customs on or off since it can be easily transferred. After a year or so, since the international scene feels that customs off are the way to go then we will be following that. And I suggest for everyone to keep it that way for tournaments. You may never know when foreigners check out our place and we're not used to the international settings.
Popi: While a lot of people have expressed interest in seeing the Philippine Smash scene, some are still wondering about the state of the other games here. We already know that Project M and Melee still have a huge fanbase in both the Manila and Iloilo regions and in fact, you allow Melee/PM players to bring friendly set-ups to Imperium monthlies at times. Is Imperium looking to pick up the other games in the future?
McArthur: We had certain games in the past. As long as people show up for it then I don't see a reason for it not being part of events.
Popi: What do you think about the Philippine Smash scene in general? In your opinion, what steps does SSBPH need to take as a community in order to grow further? Do FGC games in general have the potential to reach the likes of games like Crossfire and League Of Legends here in the Philippines?
McArthur: My favorite question! Ok, so the PH Smash Scene is very good. So good that I'm actually jealous. Why? I can see and feel that everyone or most want to win. Yes, everyone wants to have fun as well. It is clearly visible in my eyes that everyone wants to win and they have fun in doing so! In a tournament of say 30-40 smash players, everyone has that feel of finding out ways, talking strategies, and the "wanting to win" aura.
In other games, only about 10-20 out of the scene have this mentality (so guys from other games please do step it up! don't dwell in the mentality that you cant have fun if you are a serious player). As a non Smash player and a TO, what I can say to the Smash scene are....
- Keep it up guys. Advance the hunger further by studying other scene's strengths and weaknesses.
- Aim to go to international events. This will make you hungrier for yourself and this will make you want to make the scene better even more.
- Less offensive stuff that can possibly turn away fresh players. Yes, we all have that vibe where we want to joke around. There will always be some players with different perspective. For the strong players, this is what I told myself, be more welcoming and help level everyone up (which I see it so keep that up). I know the feeling of satisfaction one gets from winning a close fight and dominating in a one sided one. So think about it this way... "the more you welcome and train and invite to events... the more satisfying moments you'll get in winning".
- Less crying and more leveling up. On the flip side, don't let digital words pierce your heart. Don't let it make you "quit" or leave a group. Instead use it to fuel your desire to be stronger. If you want to "get back at them" do so in showing it in game. Try to understand also that on a strong players side, it's really sad seeing "all talk no walk" types of happenings.
- A follow up on the walk your talk. You really have to go and join the main scene's events to show everyone that you exist. It's easier to type in a keyboard than it is standing up. It's much better to do it
Popi: Lastly, say I'm a person who knows nothing about the event. Where do I go to learn more about this event? What is the best way to contact you guys if I have any inquiries?
McArthur: Check out Imperium's Facebook page. The event post is pinned on the top. On that event's wall there's the rules, map, and online registration post. The online registration page and some CPT stuff can be found on the Beast Of The East website. For inquires, you could message the Imperium page or me on my FB or Twitter.
Popi: Thank you so much for this interview! Are there any people you'd like to give a shout out to? Also, any last words for the readers? I wish your team nothing but good luck towards Manila Cup.
McArthur: Shout outs to my pomeranian dog "Sioti"! He's turning 10 this December/January. Shout outs to shout outs. Shout outs to the FGC, IPT, P2D, SRK, and every FGC group known in every game in the Pearl of the Orient! My last words to the readers are... don't be jeje.
Jeje - Not taking the game seriously and being against the growth of the community.
________________________________________
Thank you for reading this interview! Hopefully, more people will become aware of this and by extension, the Philippine scene soon. To get more updates on the event, you can follow their Facebook page. If you want to follow me and my plight of not being able to attend this tournament due to being a high schooler living halfway across the country, you can always shoot me a follow on my Twitter.
