Compared to the other participants of the Axie Pro Tournament, John Ruev “Ruwwev” C. Arceo is relatively unknown. He’s a 19-year old gamer and sneaker entrepreneur and a proud scholar of the Chosen Ones Guild. However, last April 3, he rose above the hundreds the best Axie players and became the APT Season 2 Grand Champion.
To call Ruwwev an underdog is an understatement. During the APT Season 2, Ruwwev fought out of the open qualifiers which had 250 participants, remained undefeated in the Top 16 before ultimately winning it all. It’s an absolutely monumental feat considering that the Top 16 was filled with world class content creators and professional esports players invited to the tournament for their Axie prowess.
During our interview with him, Ruwwev recounts how he started playing Axie last August 2021 through his Aunt who was his manager. He began his Axie career as a regular scholar, with 3 Axies. Since his manager is also a breeder he got to experience the meta axies that allowed him to upgrade and join the roster for Esports players being built by Chosen Ones.
“I got to first learn and encounter Axie during the hype because of my aunt whose an Axie Manager, she took me in as a scholar and I was one of the lucky few who got into the OG 12 scholars
I was lucky enough to be a part of the original roster of Esport players with over 15 players, with some being more experienced players who own their Axies while there were only 5 of us in the Esports line-up who are OG scholars.”
For him, being a part of a guild early on was a very good experience since this helped build his strategy, performance; this includes his English speaking as it is a much needed skill for him to communicate with his guild mates, which also helped him with teamwork.
On his Axie Pro Tournament Season 2 experience
Ruwwev with the other Qualified Players from the Open Qualifiers | Image by United Gamers GuildOn March 18, the start of open qualifiers, Ruwwev remembers grinding daily in the Axie Arena, making sure he makes a mark before the elimination ends.
“It was mentally exhausting for me since I have to grind and play everyday; I wanna be a part of the best of the best, from about 15,000 players down to only 256 qualifiers, it was a lot of work and anxiety but, thankfully I was one of them”
There had been many popular and talented players in the Axie Pro Tournament 2 and Ruwwev says he was looking forward to sharpen his teeth against some of the world’s best players.
“There were a lot of players I wanna match with like SpamAndRice, the Captain of YGG Dizzboy, unfortunately we were not in the same bracket; other big names like Hezelya were also some of the ones I was looking forward to. Even though I did not get to play with these top players, I did get to see one of my guild mates Shroom who I was able to fight with; granting that he and I were also from the qualifiers. That fight was a blast.”
Despite having a lot of memorable battles and experiences throughout the tournament, Ruwwev states that it was definitely the Grand Final battle between him and CH4.
“Definitely the Grand finals, it was all goosebumps for me, it reminded me of all the effort that you put in, ever since the eliminations to the qualifiers, where I struggled. Especially since I am unable to eat, sleep due to the pressure. But then during that specific match with Ch4 , all of my worries went away.
He adds that despite the massive pressure during that match he just felt it all melt away. He says his faith helped him during that time.
Suddenly, everything was just all better – I believe that its because of the prayer I uttered before the game that really did help in my win.
I always do pray before a game, so gaining that clarity, that peace during a very chaotic moment was such an uplifting moment; I remember I was already shouting and maybe even cursed on the live stream (sorry for that) during that last game just because I finally was able to release it all, I am able to breathe.
Ruwwev says that the event was also quite a challenge, physiscally and emotionally. However, like all great competitors, Ruwwev persevered.
Those two weeks were so grueling & draining for me, it was hard – I was always anxious since I really don’t wanna lose, I do not want all my hard work to go to waste. Not to brag, but I remember having a winning streak and that has helped me keep my focus; I was always just taking a look at the prize at the end. I never allowed distractions and anxieties to take over.”
‘Hard work beats talent’ for me. Every little thing that you will experience is necessary; all that late night and struggle is worth it; it will always boil down to how you push yourself.”
At the end of it all though, when the dust cleared, Ruwwev took how not only the APT Championship Title but also a cool 70 AXS or around USD 4,506.59 or PHP 231,124.6 at the time. He also brought home an exclusive NFT profile pic from Bored Punks of Society.
Ruwwev says his winnings from the Axie Pro Tournament will go back to the people who supported him the most:
“Definitely to help my parents, pay my tuition,and to continue allocating a budget for my sneaker business; and also maybe expand my Axie team and flip it to continue with the momentum of my investment.”
On Competitive Gaming
It’s clear that Ruwwev enjoyed being on the big stage of competitive gaming. He had preformed well against the best of the best after all:
“It’s a funny thing, really! I never saw myself nor did I ever expect that I could enter the competitive scene; it has always been an afterthought, with all that tremendous prizes and wins you can get? Of course, I thought about it. What got me was a couple of months back before the UGG tournament, where I encountered difficulties with my finances; with a remaining balance on my tuition fee for school and my parents having issues. I found that it was the right opportunity to take a chance to join competitive gaming so I pushed myself to join and win.
“To be honest till now I cannot believe that I actually won. It still hasn’t sinked in yet, I could never in my wildest dreams believe that I actually won. I used to be one of the guys who watched the very first UGG tournament and now, after seeing the casters be the one casting my game – it is so surreal!”
Currently, there are no other games since I focused on Axie. I really wanted to earn and be the best in this game, but who knows, I may look into joining the rest of the games soon.”
As final note, Ruwwev also wanted to extend his gratitude to everyone who helped him on this journey to dominance. He shared some words of wisdom to everyone who wishes to follow their esports dreams.
“I’m really thankful for all the people who have supported me, to my Managers, Arianne, Adrian & Ellazul my Coach & to the guild itself who has allowed me to be a scholar , I am so thankful to be one of the Chosen Ones and t have proven that I, indeed am a chosen one”
“Dream gig, work hard & all of your efforts will pay off “ Only words I can share for all those aspiring players out there!