Tier One, a Southeast Asian esports and video gaming-oriented entertainment agency, is soon to unveil a collaboration with designer toy brand Quiccs which will be made available through its official merchandise line ‘BLCKBOX,’ the company’s CEO Tryke Gutierrez shared in an interview with Newsbytes.PH during the debut of G2 Blacklist at the Wild Rift League Asia (WRL-A) Qualifiers.
While the collectible is yet to be officially announced, Gutierrez mentioned that the design has already been approved and has “export quality,” in time for the company’s planned international expansion alongside global esports and entertainment brand G2 Esports. He also clarified that moving forward, G2 Esports will be primarily engaged with Western markets while Tier One will be at the helm for the Asian region.
“Localizing in Asia is very difficult. You go into Vietnam or Thailand, all of these markets have different languages, different governments, and different people. Understanding the markets is very important and having the right distribution into those (western) markets is something that we can’t establish in the next two to three years,” he explained, noting that G2 Esports is also a more intense partner when it comes to creatives.
Unfortunately, the launch of G2 Blacklist was faced with a setback last Friday, February 17, during the WRL-A Phase 2 Qualifiers against all-Filipino team “The 300” 0-2, forcing the newly-forged team to proceed to the lower bracket finals the following day against the losing team from the Nigma Galaxy vs Fennel Adversity match.
The team is composed of five players: Jairus Allain “Jace” Elgera (Jungle), Jhon Mike “Xyliath” Tungol (Midlane), Richard “Demon” Lara (Dragon), Beaver-ed “Orthros” Villanueva, (Support/Captain), and Allen Dean “Don” Viola (Sub/Baron). They are led by Hans “WUrahhhh” Solano as the head coach and Keiya “XDXP” Laureta as the assistant coach.
The WRL Asia Qualifiers for League of Legends: Wild Rift League (WRL) will be hosting three regional leagues namely Vietnam, the Philippines, and Southeast Asia (SEA). Fennel Adversity and The 300 both comes from Phase 1 and emerged victorious against 14 other teams, while Nigma Galaxy and G2 Blacklist received direct invitations for Phase 2.
Only the victor and the second-place finisher will be participating in the major event (WRL Asia 2023 Season 1) scheduled to take place by April.
