NU’s Ramon Bautista Jr.
Unbeaten group-stage leaders Adamson University and National University look to turn their top-seed billing into a championship run as the 2026 UAAP Esports VALORANT Tournament enters its playoff stage today (Monday) at the MVP Studios in Mandaluyong City.
The Soaring Falcons and Bulldogs emerged on top of Groups A and B, respectively, setting up crossover semifinal clashes against the University of the Philippines and the University of the East.
Adamson and UP open the semifinals at 10:30 a.m., followed by NU and UE at 1:30 p.m., with the winners advancing to the championship match at 5 p.m.
Adamson enters the medal rounds carrying arguably the strongest group-stage campaign after topping Group A with seven points on two wins and one draw.
The Soaring Falcons capped their unbeaten run by handing erstwhile group leader UE its first loss of the tournament in emphatic fashion, sweeping the Red Warriors, 2-0, behind 13-6 and 13-1 victories.
Marc Louie Gutierrez led the way with 21 kills and six assists in the opening map, continuing a balanced Adamson campaign that has also seen Jhiemart Muto and Justin Andrei Mangguing deliver big performances throughout the group stage.
The playoff landscape also opened up considerably after three-peat-seeking De La Salle University crashed out in the group stage. But for Adamson head coach Karlo Ocampo, the Green Aces’ absence hardly changes the equation in the Soaring Falcons’ championship bid.
“Nothing has really changed about our chances this UAAP. From the very beginning, I told them that we had a 50-50 chance of winning it all,” said Ocampo.
“If we can execute what we’ve been practicing for the past five months, then we have a high chance of becoming champions. But if we can’t show on the big stage what we’ve been practicing, then we deserve to lose.”
Much like Ocampo, NU head coach Luis Yanga sees little reason to recalibrate his team’s title chances simply because the defending champions are no longer in their way.
“Honestly, whether La Salle is still in the picture or not, our mindset doesn’t really change. We respect every team equally, but our focus has always been on ourselves and what we can control,” said Yanga.
“We’re confident in our chances, but I think our biggest challenge is still overcoming our own mental limitations. If we can stay focused, composed, and trust the work we’ve put in, then we know we can go far in these playoffs.”
The Bulldogs had a tougher path to the top seed, opening their campaign with two straight draws before finally breaking through with a victory in their final group-stage assignment.
After responding with their most dominant performance of the tournament in a 2-0 sweep of UP, Yanga believes the Bulldogs have grown from the early adversity.
“We had a rough start this season, but I think we’ve grown a lot since then, especially compared to where we were last year. Right now, we’re confident enough to say that we can be our own biggest threat because we know how much potential we have when we play our game,” said Yanga.
Standing between the two top seeds and a potential championship showdown are UP and UE.
The Red Warriors enter their semifinal against NU with Robbie Macapagal among their main weapons after his 28-kill, five-assist performance in their playoff-clinching sweep of the University of Santo Tomas.
UP, meanwhile, gets an opportunity to bounce back from its lopsided loss to NU in the final group-stage match when it takes on an Adamson side that has yet to taste defeat.