The Filipino team, Bren Esports had a great run at the recently concluded OMEN Challenger Series as they placed 3^rd- 4^th overall, walking away with $4,000 in cash prize.

AFK Gaming present at the venue was able to get a quick interview with Patrick “Derek” Lacson as we engaged in a conversation discussing the Counter-Strike scene in the Philippines, how the team handled the transition period from TNC to Bren Esports, and much more. So read on and enjoy.

Hey Derek! How about a quick introduction for the readers?

Hello guys, I am Patrick Lacson known by the name of “Derek” in-game, currently playing with Bren Esports along with Pro., witz, Papichulo, and BORKUM. Bren Esports is an esports organization based in the Philippines which started a few years back, having multiple teams across various esport titles.

Can you tell us a bit about what went on with the team during the transition period from TNC to Bren?

After we left TNC there was a brief time period during which we were org less, at this point of time we received a few invitations from other organizations including Bren, after discussing everything we came to a conclusion that Bren was the best fit for us. So we went ahead and became a part of their organization.

How have the players adjusted to this change? Was this transition a smooth affair?

We all felt very comfortable moving ahead with Bren, the transition was smooth. At Bren, we get to focus on our game without any distractions, it is a great environment here that helps us grow both as players and a team. We are all very comfortable here.

Tell us about your journey through the qualifiers and the main stage of this tournament?

For the regional qualifiers, we actually had to fight our way through the Open Qualifiers as we were not directly invited for the Regional Qualifier. And even when playing in the Open Qualifiers we had to compete in it all the way from Singapore, as we had gone there for playing the SEA Qualifiers for ZOWIE eXTREMESLAND 2019.

It was a hustle but we were able to make our way through the Philippines and the group stage right into the Playoffs. Our group was certainly not easy and we feel good about making it to the semifinals.

Does representing the Philippines add any pressure to your performance?

We as a team have talked about this a lot. We might be facing all kinds of pressure but we don’t mind them, keeping our focus on the game and don’t let any kind of external pressure become a cause for distracting us.

How does Bren work its way through a tense or a clutch situation?

We mainly focus on our communication during such times. Whenever there is a clutch situation the comms generally go haywire, so we simply try to maintain our calm and keep communicating with each other, passing on as much information as we can deduce better what the opposition is trying to throw at us while planning our moves accordingly.

The steady flow of communication helps everyone stay organized, stick to their roles and the chances of winning in such a situation significantly go up.

Which team is your closest competitor in the Philippines?

I would say Fallen5 is our closest competitors from the region, they are also the second CS:GO team under the banner of Bren Esports.

How would you describe the Counter-Strike in the Philippines?

This year has been certainly been progressive when compared to the past few years. Before you could count the number of tournaments taking place in the Philippines by the fingers in your hands, but now there are a lot more tournaments taking place, giving smaller teams more opportunities to come into the limelight. So I think the scene is only getting better by the day.

If Bren had reached the finals who would you have liked to play against?

I would have certainly liked to face ALPHA Red or Grayhound Gaming, any one of these two.

That was our time with the Derek who along with his team was able to achieve a deep run for Bren Esports here in Jakarta. The team has also qualified for ZOWIE eXTREMESLAND 2019 through the SEA Qualifier and will be representing the Philippines once again, but this time in Shanghai.

With the groups for the upcoming event being released today, Bren sees itself being placed against ViCi Gaming, Revolution, and Entity Gaming in Group - D. Will the Filipino squad be able to qualify for the playoffs?

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