YGG esports player wins $20,000 in Parallel Web3 gaming tournament

The Parallel tournament at the YGG Play Summit saw Colombian YGG Esports player Zeliaser walking away with the $20,000 grand prize as part of a $100,000 prize pool.

Zeliaser bested Hungarian player Bullbence 2-0 in the finals. The deciding round was a rematch of the upper bracket semifinals, where Bullbence had outplayed Zeliaser 2-1 and sent the YGG Esports player to the losers bracket.

Zeliaser fought in two more grueling battles to reach the grand finals and turn the tables on Bullbence, who ultimately conceded after Zeliaser’s dominant performance.

Zeliaser is one of the longest-serving players of YGG Esports, Yield Guild Games’ esports team led by team captain Disi and YGG Head of Esports Mike Ovecka, former Blizzard Program Manager for Hearthstone Esports. Besides Parallel, YGG Esports also has teams competing in Axie Infinity and Sipher.

“I just want to say thank you to everyone who supported me. Everyone was so friendly. Everyone in theParallel community is super nice. I just had so much fun meeting everyone,” said Zeliaser, in a statement.

He traveled from Colombia to compete at the invitational, the first of its kind to take place in Asia.

Parallel game ambassador Alliestrasza presented the champion with his prize and congratulated him onwinning the tournament while representing YGG at the YGG Play Summit. Asked by Alliestrasza abouthis journey toward the Prime Championship, Parallel’s $500,000 competitive event series, Zeliasershared he is working toward reaching the top eight of the game’s leaderboard to qualify for the tournament, which will take place in March at the HyperX Arena in Las Vegas.

“I’ll probably be there,” Zeliaser said. “I’ll probably be in Vegas.”

Since first entering playable status in 2023, Parallel has taken become popular in Web3 gaming, attracting many web2 TCG professionals to commit to the game full-time. Fans of the game have attested to the flexibility of its deck-building systems, variety of winning strategies, and the quality of its lore as compelling reasons to stick with the game for the long term.

“Seeing so many of the world’s top TCG players coming together in the Philippines to compete in thistournament in front of an equally passionate audience was truly special,” said Parallel cofounder Kalos, in a statement. “Congratulations to the champion, Zeliaser, and I hope to see him again at the Parallel Prime World Championship in Vegas in March 2025. Thank you, YGG, and thank you, Philippines, for hosting us.”

The Parallel championship competitors consisted of 16 of the best in the world, all making it to thetournament after finishing at the top ranks of a 128-player online qualifier. The tournament capped off aweek filled with esports and competitive matches from games such as Arena of Faith, Anichess, andIndus.

“It’s great to see a major Web3 tournament in Manila at the YGG Play Summit, especially for a game ashigh-quality and competitive as Parallel. Having it here at the beating heart of Web3 gaming and seeingthe best of the best fly in from all over the world says a lot; Web3 esports is only going more and moremainstream. Of course, the best thing is to see one of our own come out on top, Zeliaser, representingYGG Esports,” said YGG cofounder Gabby Dizon, in a statement.

Dizon has been an advocate for blockchain games ever since Axie Infinity took off first in the Philippines, particularly in 2021.

After this week’s Parallel tournament, the Founder’s Day sessions on the main stage wrapped up with YGGPilipinas Campaign Director John Sedano announcing Zeliaser as the tournament champion. Parallel co-founder Kohji Nagata joined Zeliaser onstage to present him with a collectible figure of the popularParallel character Catherine Lapointe, used by players who prefer a fast-paced, aggressive strategy.

Outside the esports tournaments, the five-day YGG Play Summit had events for newcomers and veteransto Web3 gaming, including the successful red-carpet premiere of the Metaverse Filipino Worker series,which took place at the SM Aura Premier Cinemas on November 20. Still lined up for the week are a massive cosplay competition and the first in-person Gam3 Awards, where Parallel is once againnominated for Game of the Year after winning the prestigious award in 2023, and Alliestrasza isnominated for Content Creator of the Year.

Event attendees also had a chance to try demos of new and upcoming Web3 games through the event’sGamer Expo, where 30 projects participated. Showmatches were also held throughout the event, featuring well-known web3 personalities as players and shoutcasters.

The YGG Play Summit explores the intersection of gaming and the emerging Web3 ecosystem, featuringa hackathon, a conference, a game expo, and esports tournaments. It features opportunities forattendees to connect and provide valuable insights into the future of gaming, digital ownership, and thetop projects of Web3 globally.

Parallel TCG is a science fiction card game in which five factions battle for supremacy over a future Earth. Inspired by mechanics from popular trading card games, Parallel TCG has won numerous awards since2021 and has put up a $500,000 prize pool for its 2024 competitive season.