The runner-up finish caps off a very dominant year for the squad.
MANILA, Philippines — Team Stallions, featuring an all-Filipino roster, made CrossFire history as it finished second in the CrossFire Stars 2025, a record for a Philippine team in the tournament.
Previously dominated by Pacific Macta in the country’s qualifier, Team Stallions and fellow Filipino bet EVOS Arc had one goal—to showcase the Filipino talent in FPS to the world and not be counted out as easy pickings in the tournament. The team easily proved this as it finished as top seeds in their respective groups with an undefeated record.
The undefeated record saw both Filipino squads make it to the Upper Bracket semifinals. But it was there where EVOS Arc met its match in champion All Gamers of China, which dropped the former to the lower bracket, where EVOS Arc was eliminated by Brazil’s Al Qadsiah.
Team Stallions, on the other hand, continued to go through its opponents, even eliminating 2023 champions BaiSha Gaming to avenge its loss at the Esports World Cup.
In the knockout rounds, Team Stallions swept Vietnam’s Twisted Minds and even sent 2024 champions Evolution Power to the lower brackets to secure a top-four finish.
But similar to their brethren, Team Stallions absorbed its first defeat, falling to China’s All Gamers, 2-3, in the upper bracket finals to drop to the lower bracket against Brazil’s Al Qadsiah.
Avenging its countrymen, Team Stallions eliminated the top Brazilian squad via a clean 3-0 sweep to book a rematch with All Gamers in the grand finals.
In a valiant effort from the all-Filipino squad, it denied its opponent a sweep as it took the third map. But the Chinese team eventually proved too much, and Team Stallions instead still ended up with a historic runner-up finish—the highest for a Filipino team in the tournament.
“It means everything to us. Lahat kami dito, pinaghirapan ito. Mga staff, mga magulang, mga friends. Saka yung buong Pilipinas na sumusuporta sa amin. It means everything. We made history. Kinapos pero we made history. I can’t really be sad [sa talo]. Seeing the boys fight for their dreams. We came to fight [and we did],” said coach Francis “Tankz” Catangay in an interview with the Filipino cast after their match.
Th runner-up finish caps off a very dominant year for Team Stallions. Formerly known as UBECmaniacGT, the entire roster was acquired by Team Stallions ahead of the CrossFire event at this year’s Esports World Cup, where the team finished in the top four and was the only non-Chinese squad in the semifinals.
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