Alula SC, Elevate share Filipino CODM World Championship dream
MANILA, Philippines – The two best Philippine Call of Duty: Mobile (CODM) teams will enter the biggest stage for the CODM World Championship 2026 on December 4 to 6 in Mexico City.
Alula SC and ELEVATE have secured CODM Garena’s two spots after finishing first and second in the Southeast Asian Qualifiers. The two squads will now travel to the La Ciudad de los Palacios where they will face the best teams around the world, with the same objective of bringing another world championship back home and glory for the country.
Alula SC and Elevate’s qualification is the latest chapter in the region’s most compelling rivalry in the CODM esports scene.
Both ELEVATE and Alula SC have established championship pedigree in 2026, trading victories and heartbreak and both proved capable of beating the other.
Yet while they are fierce opponents once the phones are in their hands, the two teams also share a much different dynamic away from competition.
Now, they will have to put their rivalry and friendship to work towards the same goal: making the Philippines and the Garena region proud on the world stage.
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The emergence of a new rivalry
The roots of the rivalry stretch back beyond the formation of Alula SC.
ELEVATE has been one of the dominant forces in Garena CODM for years. The organization won Garena Masters Seasons 6 and 7 in 2024, followed by another title in Season 8 in 2025.
The team’s dominance culminated in a historic 2024 campaign in which ELEVATE also won the Garena Summer Invitational and the Call of Duty: Mobile World Championship.
But one of the teams that repeatedly challenged ELEVATE was Stalwart Esports.
Stalwart’s core eventually became the foundation of Alula SC, bringing players such as Shan Rouise “FDx” Mateo, Averson “Skerd” Salaya, Andhika “Clove” Putra and Jhairylle “Jhai” Calano into a new organization alongside Brazilian standout Lucas “Lucaszin” Ferreira.
That history immediately carried over. At Garena Masters 9 in 2025, Stalwart defeated ELEVATE 4-1 in the Grand Final, ending ELEVATE’s run of dominance in the region and denying the team another ‘golden road’.
When the Stalwart core became Alula, the rivalry simply took on a new identity.
Two teams that know each other better than anyone
The two teams met again at Garena Masters X in March 2026, with ELEVATE winning the championship after defeating Alula 4-2 in the Grand Final. Their rivalry continued throughout the year, with neither side able to completely separate itself from the other.
At the Garena Summer Invitational 2026, ELEVATE and Alula finished first and second, respectively, in an all-Filipino Grand Final. The result gave both teams direct qualification to the Group Stage of the World Championship Garena Qualifier.
Onto Garena Masters XI, it was Alula SC who came out on top this time around after sending ELEVATE down to the lower bracket and before finishing off Rival Esports in the grand finals to mark another title under their belt.
Then finally in the aforementioned Garena Qualifier, Alula defeated ELEVATE 4-2 in the Grand Final to claim the championship. It was another chapter in their ongoing fierce rivalry — but this time, both teams won something bigger – by having the right to represent the region together.
For Alula, the ability to consistently challenge ELEVATE comes down to the quality and dedication of both teams.
“I think both teams have the talent and dedication to the game,” Alula’s Skerd said. “ELEVATE is a difficult opponent to handle because of how they pressure other teams, and once they get the momentum, it’s hard to break it.”
ELEVATE, meanwhile, believes Alula’s rise has been helped by one particular player, and he has added even more spice to the ongoing rivalry.
“The man himself,” ELEVATE’s John “Yop1” Manalang said when asked what makes Alula difficult to play against. “I think it’s gonna be a different scenario if Lucaszin was not in that team. He just filled every gap in that team to make the team stronger.”
The mutual recognition between the two sides is part of what makes the rivalry so interesting. They understand each other’s strengths, but they also know that even the smallest advantage can determine which team walks away with a trophy.
And yet, there is an important distinction between knowing your opponent and disliking them. Away from competition the players remain friends off the game and their relationship could become just as important as their rivalry once they arrive in Mexico City.
Knowing an opponent this well can make preparation more complicated, but it has also created a relationship that extends beyond the game. Skerd described the relationship between the two teams simply.
“We are just like friends outside the game, but when we start playing against each other, we enter in a different world,” he said. “We might trash-talk each other but of course we know that it’s just part of the game and we are just having fun.”
FDx echoed Skerd’s sentiments, noting that they are brothers when they are off the game.
“Honestly, outside the game we are really close. We laugh a lot with how we performed with each other and just trolling each other. I would say we are rivals and enemies inside the game but brothers outside the game.”
For ELEVATE’s Karlo “kLo” Morales, that friendship remains one of the enjoyable parts of their long-running rivalry.
“Even though we’ve been rivals throughout the years, bonding with them outside the game feels fun, especially when we get to compete in another country and experience different things together,” kLo said.
“Playing against them has always been fun and competitive, and every game we play is always a different story.”
Rivals in the server competing for one goal
For a number of tournaments, ELEVATE and Alula SC have competed for the same trophies. They have knocked each other into lower brackets, they each have denied each other championships, and they each have studied each other’s tendencies and adapted to each other’s playstyles.
ELEVATE knows what it takes to reach the deepest stages of a World Championship, and Alula knows the strengths and weaknesses of their biggest rivals. Both teams have spent years playing against each other practicing in the same ecosystem and competing for the same trophies.
The Philippines has already established itself as one of the strongest regions in CODM. Now, the country has another chance to return to the top.
ELEVATE won the World Championship in 2024, and then In 2025, ELEVATE finished runner-up while Stalwart Esports/Alula took third, giving the Philippines two teams on the global podium.
Coach Mark Alexis “Olea” Olea sees the possibility of both Filipino teams going deep into the tournament as something that could mean even more for the country and the Garena region.
“Unang-una, masaya kami siyempre na may kapwa Pinoy tayo sa Alula na nakapasok din sa World Championship,” Olea said. “Malaking bagay para sa amin na dalawa kaming Filipino teams na magre-represent ng Pilipinas at ng Garena region sa global stage.”
“Alam namin na malaking responsibility ito, kaya gagawin namin ang best namin para mag-perform nang maayos at maipakita kung gaano kalakas ang Pilipinas at ang Garena region. Of course, ang goal pa rin namin is to become World Champions.”
Then came the possibility that would turn their rivalry into one of the biggest moments for Philippine CODM.
“Hopefully, kami at Alula ang magharap sa Finals,” Olea stated. “Mas magiging special yun para sa Pilipinas at sa Garena region kung parehong Filipino teams ang maglalaban para sa World Championship.”
It is a scenario that would force the fiercest rivals to compete for the biggest prize possible while carrying the same flag.
By December, Alula and ELEVATE may once again find themselves on opposite sides of a bracket. For all the rivalry between them, the objective is ultimately the same: represent the Philippines, represent Garena, and bring the championship home once more.
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