{"id":50553,"date":"2022-08-08T07:27:27","date_gmt":"2022-08-07T23:27:27","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.upgrademag.com\/web\/?p=50553"},"modified":"2022-08-08T07:27:29","modified_gmt":"2022-08-07T23:27:29","slug":"smart-omega-athletes-win-in-school-and-gaming","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"http:\/\/www.upgrademag.com\/web\/2022\/08\/08\/smart-omega-athletes-win-in-school-and-gaming\/","title":{"rendered":"Smart Omega athletes win in school and gaming"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

\u201cPuro ka na lang cellphone!\u201d
<\/em>(\u201cYou are always glued to your phone!\u201d)<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

This expression normally conveying exasperation is often uttered by Filipino parents when their children focus more on mobile gaming than on studying. But, for Smart Omega athletes Dean Christian \u201cRaizen\u201d Sumagui, Mery \u201cMeraaay\u201d Vivero and Ronan Arkie \u201cOMG.Rage\u201d Eleria, they have proven that balancing academics and gaming can be done.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Graduating with honors from a science high school in Cavite, 18-year-old Raizen shared that he was elated when he found out about his rank in school, soon after his team Smart Omega, the professional esports team of Smart Communications, Inc. (Smart), finished second place in the Mobile Legends: Bang Bang Professional League \u2013 Philippines (MPL-PH).<\/p>\n\n\n\n

But, it was not an easy feat.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cSobrang hirap kasi lagi akong puyat. Pagkatapos kong mag-ML ng alas-tres ng umaga, doon ako gagawa ng requirements. Tapos may pasok ako ng 7:30,\u201d<\/em> the jungler shared.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Omega Empress captain Meraaay echoed the same sentiment. \u201cOnline class po at graduating student ako habang naglalaro. Umiiyak ako dati kasi hindi ko na kaya, pero hindi po talaga ako huminto,<\/em>\u201d she said. Meraaay led her team to win back-to-back championships in Liga Adarna.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

For Rage, who is part of the Call of Duty Mobile Garena Masters II champion squad, it felt overwhelming at first, but with time management and right support system, he was able to overcome the struggles. \u201cGusto ko talaga \u2018to, nag e-enjoy ako maglaro pero at the same time, meron din akong mga pangarap bukod sa pagiging esports player.\u201d<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

They also shared that their families, classmates, and teachers encouraged them to balance their studies and work.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cIf meron man akong mga academics na kulang sa time at matatamaan yung training, kakausapin ko sila at i t-try kong ipa-adjust para both ways magawa ko yung priority ko,\u201d<\/em> added Rage.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

As the top patron of esports development in the Philippines, Smart has partnered with local agencies, grassroots organizations, and global institutions to encourage the youth to participate in competitive esports activities.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Meanwhile, Smart-supported Omega Academy develops talents in the esports industry, and pushes for a healthy balance between physical and online activities for the holistic development of esports athletes.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

As for the three graduates, they will level up as students, while making their fans proud in the stage of esports. \u201cHangga\u2019t kayang pagsabayin ang pagaaral at paglalaro ituloy lang hangga\u2019t makarating ka sa iyong pangarap,\u201d <\/em>Rage said.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Smart-supported\u00a0Omega Academy develops talents in the esports industry, and pushes for a healthy balance between physical and online activities for the holistic development of esports athletes.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":6,"featured_media":50554,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[23],"tags":[34,2506,343],"class_list":["post-50553","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-gaming","tag-gaming-2","tag-gaming-industry","tag-smart-communications"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"http:\/\/www.upgrademag.com\/web\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/50553","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"http:\/\/www.upgrademag.com\/web\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"http:\/\/www.upgrademag.com\/web\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.upgrademag.com\/web\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/6"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.upgrademag.com\/web\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=50553"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"http:\/\/www.upgrademag.com\/web\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/50553\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.upgrademag.com\/web\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/50554"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"http:\/\/www.upgrademag.com\/web\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=50553"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.upgrademag.com\/web\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=50553"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.upgrademag.com\/web\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=50553"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}