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A12 Saturday, December 2, 2017
Editor: Gerard S. Ramos • lifestylebusinessmirror@gmail.com
Thailand, Vietnam rule eSports event ❶ Team Next Gen Aorus of Vietnam took top honors in “Dota 2” and won the $2,500 cash prize.
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diNna chan vasquez
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@dinnachanvasquez
Signature of Thailand won in “Counter Strike: Global Offensive”ß for $2,500.
luckydinna@gmail.com
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efore last weekend, my knowledge of “Defense of the Ancients 2” (Dota 2) and CounterStrike was limited to the sights and sounds of overenthusiastic teenage boys playing these games at Internet shops. Some of my friends’ sons would play these while I was visiting their homes and they would be noisy and very excited. Anyway, last week I got to attend the GeForce Esports eXtreme Tournament (GEXT) 2017, an eSports tournament at the Glorietta Activity Center organized by Nvidia. Gamers from different countries— Thailand, Indonesia, Malaysia, Singapore, Vietnam and the Philippines—battled for supremacy in Dota 2 and “Counter-Strike: Global Offensive” (CS:GO). Over 1,000 teams from these countries had been battling for slots in the finals for the past six months, according to Nvidia Philippines Country Manager Jerome Matti. Teams from Thailand and Vietnam emerged as champions in their respective categories. The tournament kicked off in June in the Philippines and ended with the finals on November 25 and 26. Nvidia designs graphics processing units (GPUs) for the gaming, cryptocurrency and professional markets. It also creates systemon-a-chip units for the mobile computing and automative markets. It is best known for its GPU product called GeForce.
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❶ This is what I know about eSports or gaming: Gamers/players need special personalized and designed computers, which is why Apple computers are never used for gaming. Gaming really tests the capabilities of a computer. In fact, an enduring trend among serious gamers is “overclocking,” which means pushing a normal CPU to its limits. Some methods even use liquid nitrogen to cool the CPU, while this is going on. “Overclocking will void the warranty of your retail CPU. Overclocking may destroy your CPU, your motherboard or your system memory. It may corrupt your hard drive. Be careful when overclocking. You have been warned,” says an article in PCworld.com. Where am I going with this? To prove that eSports or online games isn’t just for hormonal teens. It’s not just a way for them to release aggressive behavior. It’s serious stuff. Some people, apparently, are professional gamers, meaning they do this for a living. So this was the premise of GEXT 2017: That eSports is bigger than we ever imagined it was. Gamers are nerds and/or geniuses, and I use the word “nerd” with the highest
respect here. Gamers need the highest skills to compete. They should have excellent motor skills, good eyesight and hearing and be more than proficient in math. I would imagine that they also know something about computer hardware and software. Organized by Nvidia, Gext 2017 was staged in GeForce Certified iCafes, featuring gaming PCs driven by Nvidia GeForce GPUs in the participating Southeast Asian countries. It was supported by gold sponsors Colorful, Coolermaster and Palit, along with silver sponsors Galax, MSI, Thermaltake and TTesports. The goal of Gext 2017, which was streamed live, was to grow the gaming community in the region by creating more accessible
SM Appliance Rockwell reopens just in time for Christmas ❶
❶ SM Appliance Center President Maria Teresa Cheng with LG Managing Director Inkwon Heo at the reopening of SM Appliance Rockwell
❷ Tessa Prieto-Valdes and Power Plant Mall General Manager Tin Coqueiro graced the reopening. With them are SM Appliance Center’s Stephen Cheng, VP for Operations Tomasito Mendoza and SAVP Adela Mesina. ❸ The cool and hip tech stuff at the Gadgets section of SM Appliance Center Rockwell
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SM Appliance Center (www.smappliance.com) relaunched its new concept store at The Power Plant Mall with a new look, wow deals and exciting promotions. This gives guests and shoppers more reasons for sharing the proud moments of their lives with their loved ones just in time for the Christmas season. A refined, elegant design has been created for the 647-square-meter SM Appliance Store, in keeping with the upmarket Rockwell Center. The newly reopened store is sophisticated with a clean natural palette and modern edge; and at the same, is engaging to ensure customers that their overall experience is warm and embracing. Timber portals in the shop-front frame both the display window and entrance, wrapping through into the store to create a warm, welcoming and enticing ambience upon entry. Slatted timber treatments in the ceiling and entry walls add textural details and a contemporary edge to the space.
Inside the store, the wall displays are designed to frame the products, breaking up departments and creating a pleasurable shopping experience. Curved timber wayfinding signage reflects the overall store design and directs customers seamlessly through the area. The new look highlights the most innovative products to help each Filipino transition into a digital home. These include high-performance Home Entertainment Systems, Home and Kitchen Appliances, Games, Electronic Gadgets and a lot more. SM Appliance Rockwell also leads the way to exciting holiday shopping with an exclusive 5-percent discount for residents of nearby condos and villages by just presenting their SMAC card. Wow Deals also has a promo for the holidays, wherein every P35,000 single receipt purchase until December 31 entitles one to an Avalon Rechargeable Radio with Bluetooth. And then, there is the Libreng Appliances Araw Araw promotion, where every P1,000 spend entitles the customer to a raffle coupon; two raffle coupons when using a BDO credit or debit card for a chance to win one of over 300 appliances, or one of the 30" to 55" Toshiba 4K UHD Android TV or a brand new Volkswagen Jetta 2.0 TDI CL as the grand prize. Shopping for appliances also becomes a breeze with SM Appliance Center’s easy payment options. Merry Christmas Masagana not only assists in holiday financing, but also entitles customers to giveaways from SM Appliance and Home Credit—a free iron for every approved loan from P25,000 to P29,000; and a free kettle for every approved loan of P30,000 and above. There is also a 24-month installment promo with major banks until December 31 at all SM Appliance Center branches.
opportunities for amateur gamers. Matti explained that Nvidia put up the $10,000 prize money with the help of its partners and mounted and organized the tournament. “This was the first Southeast Asian finals and it was held in the Philippines because there’s a fast-growing gaming community here. We also want to build more excitement on electronic sports in the country and the region,” he said. Matti said the logistics of mounting the tournament was huge, citing the fact that
Nvidia’s regional team even came to Manila to support Nvidia Philippines for the event. Gext 2017 being the first event, Nvidia plans to stage it again in 2018. “I am not sure if it will be held in the Philippines again, but it is possible,” Matti said. Most women shop, dine out and meet up with friends during weekends. I, on the other hand, spent it in the presence of some of Southeast Asia’s best gamers. That’s not a bad thing at all. I salute these eSports who are changing the world, one game at a time.