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John Fitzgerald “Oxtraxex” Poculan of Filipino web3 gaming guild 8 Inches won the Vibes Asian Championship at the YGG Play Summit after defeating guildmate Jerald Jay “Asamax” Pamiloza in the final on Saturday, November 22.
Vibes Asian Championship
Oxtraxex earned $4,000 as the first Asian champion of Orange Cap Games’ trading card game (TCG) based on the Pudgy Penguins IP. Orange Cap Games co-founder Elliot Kahn awarded him the trophy.
According to the media release, Oxtraxex won the match after outperforming Asamax, who entered the final with 10 straight wins. Oxtraxex traveled from Zamboanga Sibugay for his first in-person Vibes TCG event. He began playing the game online during Season 0, which launched in December 2024.
The top 8 players earned invitations to the Vibes 2025 World Championship at SCG CON Portland on January 23–26, 2026. Kahn said the reception in Manila exceeded expectations and credited YGG for its support.
8 Inches Guild Dominates
Competitors from the Philippines and several other Asian countries joined the tournament. The 8 Inches guild reported strong performances from its members, with Nacks placing 11th, Happie finishing 40th, and Emoreh placing 41st. The guild said the results reflect the continued ability of Filipino casual players to compete on international stages.
In addition, Hearthstone players CaraCute and Staz reached the top 8 along with Magic: The Gathering competitors Eton Delmoro, Moises Ong, and Cholo Pascual.Â
Co-founder Icesteam Jimenez said the group began as a casual online community before transitioning into competitive play.
“Akala namin laro-laro lang. Now we’re here, playing on the biggest stage in Asia and meeting top executives from Pudgy and the global Web3 gaming scene.”
Icesteam Jimenez, Co-founder of 8 Inches Guild.
The guild formed in 2023 as a Web3 gaming community on Discord. Members from Baguio, Zamboanga, Nueva Ecija, and Indonesia attended the tournament and met in person for the first time. 8 Inches Guild said it aims to build on its showing at the Vibes Asian Championship as it prepares for future regional competitions.
Tournament Flow
The event followed a Swiss+1 format and allowed up to 12 proxies to maintain balanced power levels.Â
The top 8 players advanced to a single-elimination bracket on the second day. The top 32 participants received prizes ranging from $4,000 to $250. The competition featured a $20,000 (₱1.1-million) prize pool.
- 1st place: $4,000 (₱235,000)Â
- 2nd place: $2,000 (₱118,000)Â
- 3rd-4th place: $1,400 (₱82,000)Â
- 5th-8th place: $800 (₱47,000)Â
- 9th-16th place: $500 (₱29,000)Â
- 17th-32nd place: $250 (₱15,000)
A total of 77 players competed in the two-day tournament for a $20,000 prize pool. YGG Esports player Feno and Orange Cap Games’ Kahn cast the final match.
“The warm welcome that the Vibes team has received from everyone in Manila has just been nuts… We had this tiny print run of 15,000 boxes of the first set, and just to see the insane reception we got across the world, it’s crazy coming here and seeing the excitement in Manila. We can’t thank YGG enough for helping make this tournament happen.”
Elliot Kahn, Co-founder, Orange Cap Games
What is Vibes TCG
Vibes is a strategic trading card game where players aim to outmaneuver opponents and secure the Vibe Check.Â
- Players build a “Huddle” using three card types: penguin characters, action cards, and relics. The game uses two resources—Rods, which generate Fish, and Fish, which allow players to play penguin characters.
- A player wins by completing a Vibe Check, which requires controlling the central character, Baron Fishpockets, while also having 15 cards in play at the end of a turn.
- The Vibe Check serves as the core contest phase where players use their characters and action cards to gain control of the field.Â
The game is available both digitally (free-to-play) and physically, with QR codes linking collections.
Games at the YGGPS 2025
The YGG Play Summit also hosted two other major esports competitions.Â
Former Hearthstone professional Viper won the $100,000 YGG Parallel Showdown. YGG Esports player Tyler won the first esports tournament for Ubisoft’s Might & Magic: Fates.
Industry leaders such as Sky Mavis’ Jihoz, OpenSea’s Oliver Maroney, Pixels’ Luke Barwikowski, and Gunzilla Games’ Theodore Agranat spoke at the Town Hall stage.
GAM3S.GG’s GAM3 Awards returned for a second year. Gunzilla’s Off The Grid won five awards, including Game of the Year. Mythical Games’ Pudgy Party won Best Mobile Game and Best Casual Game.
The Summit’s City of Play expo featured four districts. The Arena highlighted competitive play. The Player District offered game demos. The Degen District focused on crypto-native communities. The Skill District, led by YGG’s Metaversity, hosted training sessions including the Base-sponsored Prompt to Prototype workshop for no-code game development.
Worth Reading: YGG Play Summit Returns to Manila, Highlights Web3 Resilience and Ecosystem Launches During Conference
This article is published on BitPinas: 8 Inches Guild Wins Big at Vibes Asian Championship at YGG Play Summit 2025
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