DAVAO BOUND. Team IPT from Cebu traveled to Davao for a supposed P1.2 million Dota 2 bet match against DVP. The team is comprised of local talents who have competed in multiple high-profile tournaments locally and abroad. (Photo from Jun Kanehara’s Facebook page.)

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A high-stakes match of the popular computer game Dota 2 in Davao city ended bitterly when one of the two teams failed to pay their half of the P1.2 million cash bet on time.

The Cebu Dota 2 team, It’s Pro Time (IPT), traveled to Davao to compete against team Davao’s Pride (DVP) last December 4, Friday after an agreement between IPT manager Peng Mendoza and DVP manager Nicco Santos that both would produce P600,000 upfront before the match.

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The P1.2 million bet is the biggest ever reported cash prize for a Dota 2 match outside of Luzon.

Medoza told eSports INQ in an exclusive online interview Wednesday that Santos failed to bring the cash during the match but promised to pay the next day in case they lost.

“After (IPT won) I called [Santos] to collect the money but he couldn’t produce it. I asked for some form of insurance or collateral but then he wouldn’t reply to me anymore. It was only Saturday evening when they told us that they would only be able to pay Monday,” Mendoza said.

The whole 5-man team of IPT including Mendoza and co-manager Raymond Tambis, were initially set to return to Cebu but were forced to extend their stay in Davao to wait for the payment.

“We decided to stay in Davao and it cost us a lot,” Mendoza said. “I asked [Santos] very clearly to tell us what time they will deposit by Monday so that I can rebook our tickets and extend our hotel stay. He assured me that he will be able to give me the money on Monday lunch time. I booked our tickets for 5 PM.”

Santos, however, was not replying to text messages from Mendoza even after lunch time.

“We were supposed to meet at lunch at the Abreeza Mall and we were panicking because our flight was at 5:30 PM. Eventually, he did arrive with P300,000. It was 4 PM. We missed our flight and had to extend in Davao for yet another day,” Mendoza said.

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“We even kept our players in Davao because we were supposed to have a second match for P600,000 as a way for the losing team to have a chance at winning back their money.”

The second match never came as well. eSports by INQUIRER.net contacted DVP manager Nicco Santos for a statement but could not reach him as of press time.

Mendoza said that although they eventually did receive the remaining P300,000 by evening that Monday, the damage was done.



“We were shocked by [DVP’s] behavior because we’ve always accorded them respect and paid our dues on time whenever they would visit Cebu to challenge our teams,” Mendoza shared.

“In total we paid over P40,000 in rebooking charges and the extended stay. It was the first time we experienced delays in payment, especially after we were very clear in talks,” he said.

Dota 2 betting

Dota 2 is a team-based computer strategy game where teams of five players compete to destroy their opponent’s base using in-game avatars or heroes.

IPT is a team that consists of some recognizable names in the local eSports scene. Their team of five includes former Rave captain Mark “Cast” Pilar, ex-Arcanys players Prince Vince “MightySavior” Enriquez, Jun “Bok” Kanehara, Marvin Salvador “Nivram” Rushton and Prince “Prince” Poligrates.

They went up against Davao players Prieme Ejay “PlayHard” Banquil, a former Mineski player, and his teammates Akashi, Naps, Jowa, Harold. All veteran players from southern Philippines.

Last October, DVP challenged teams Precious and Nube in their home turfs. Both are Cebuano squads.



DVP defeated Precious in a P500,000 bet game while they bested Nube in a P100,000 game. In the span of a weekend, DVP received their payments and flew back to Davao without issue. They left Cebu with P600,000.

Despite gains in the eSports industry in the Philippines for 2015, illegal gambling remains a prevalent and, at times, divisive issue for the competitive gaming community.

The top-heavy nature of competitive computer games such as Dota 2 forces teams who compete in international and local tournaments to confront a binary choice: win or nothing.

Because of this, many players in the country turn to bet matches to make money.

“Teams, organizers and everyone in the eSports industry need to address the problem of illegal gambling before the complications undo the work we’ve done to advance the industry,” said Tryke Gutierrez, Executive director of the Philippine eSports Organization.



READ MORE: P1.2 Million Dota 2 Gambling Match Reveals Gaps in PH ESports Industry

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