X Gears Ultimate Championship 2018: Wetter and Wilder
Free food, overflowing Beer, Free shower all day long, customized jerseys for all the participating teams, tons of ultimate action under the heavy rain and pools of mud.
That´s how I describe the first ever X Gears Ultimate Championship (XUC) in Tarlac City, brought to us by non-other than the good folks from X Gears Apparel. I never covered a tournament that wet all weekend long. The rain never stopped especially during Day 1. The heavy downpour gave us dramatic images all throughout the weekend, but it sure did ruin the beautiful green fields, giving us a brown chocolate mud pit. But then again the action continued, and the teams didn't mind the mud bath (okay, maybe some are complaining about the smell a little bit), but we never stopped shooting the games as well.
The customized team jerseys as event kits were definitely a nice touch. The teams wore them on the second day, and with a little sprinkle of mud, they all look great in it. With free breakfast and buffet for lunch, XUC participants have all the energy they need to battle it out under the pouring rain. There is one thing that gave the players a little bit of a kick to play hard, this was the overflowing, unlimited beer that the organizers prepared. Cases of beers were delivered in the morning and at exactly 10:00am, they opened the bar for everyone. I´ve never experienced anything like it.
After all the scheduled games were done in Day 1, the 12 participating teams picked their top 3 players to participate in the XUC All-Star game. At first, I thought it will just be another fun exhibition game. I was wrong. They were there to compete, and it turned out to be a massive intense matchup between the Blue and Red All-Stars. It was a lot of fun.
Our hope of having a beautiful weather finally came as the sun showed up in the early morning of Day 2. Sadly, the great ball of fire decided to leave us in the hands of the heavy dark clouds moments later the games started. So again, we pulled out our garbage bags to secure our camera gears and camped ourselves under the canopy tents every time we’re on the playing fields. It was a bit tough to shoot when your camera is covered with garbage bags or any camera jackets, but you gotta do what you have to do in order to capture the moments that were happening in the event.
After the two exciting semifinal games, the stage for the first-ever XUC Championship game was finally set. It was Manila versus Tuguegarao. TUGS vs PANCAKE. As the two teams were preparing for the first Ultimate battle in Tarlac, the gray skies were also preparing to hit us with the heaviest downpour of the weekend. A massive curtain of water fell from the skies as the day goes dark due to rain. The only thing that you can see were shadows of players flying all over the place. Splashes of mud and water every time they go after the disc. I was trying to walk from one end zone to another under the rain, hoping to find a better angle, but the pouring rain was just too much during the finals.
TUGS started with a lot of energy and toughness as they went on to score the first 5 points in the finals. But Pancake waited patiently for their time to retaliate as they also bounced back with their own rally to tie the game. The battle went back and forth after the Pancake run, that even up to the last point, you never really know who will take the W.
As the wet and wild (and drunk) crowd were cheering and screaming, appreciating the last two teams, fighting the cold weather and nasty mud just to give everyone a finals to remember, The men and women of Tuguegarao finally broke loose from the tight Pancake defense to seal the victory and call themselves the first ever XUC Champions. It was definitely an epic final between two exciting teams from Luzon.
Besides the non-stop rain that seriously ruined my first trip to Tarlac (I really wanted to see more of Tarlac. But..... You know..... Rain), It was still a fun weekend of Ultimate, seeing a lot of familiar faces from that side of the country and meeting new acquaintances to call friends. With all the freebies, kits and their huge venue in Tarlac Recreational Park, XUC definitely has the potential to go big in the coming years. I just hope that the rain will give them a break next year and the cases of beers will finally be consumed.
Congratulations X Gears!
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