Colombia wins League of Legends gold at Central American and Caribbean Games

From July 24 to August 8, the Central American and Caribbean Games were held in Santo Domingo, the capital of the Dominican Republic. Alongside the traditional disciplines associated with this kind of Olympic-style competition, such as athletics, swimming, and football, esports found a small place in the 25th edition of the century-old competition, which dates back to 1926.

Three disciplines from the vast world of esports, therefore, took place in the capital of the small Caribbean country, at the Dominican Sports Hall of Fame, on August 6 and 7. Alongside League of Legends, eFootball and Street Fighter 6 shared the stage. On Riot Games' MOBA, the tournament followed a fast-paced format, with all matches played as best of one except for the grand final, which was played as a best of three.

Six nations therefore traveled to the Dominican Republic for the League of Legends tournament, following two qualifiers held earlier in the year between late August and early May. Group A featured the Dominican Republic, the host nation, alongside Venezuela and Panama. After beating Venezuela in the opening match, the host nation confirmed its momentum with a second win against Panama, finishing first in its group. In the decisive match, Venezuela defeated Panama to secure the second qualifying spot for the playoffs.

In Group B, Colombia, the big favorite of the competition, secured back-to-back wins against Guatemala and Honduras, as expected, to qualify for the final stage. In the second decisive match, Honduras defeated Guatemala to advance to the semifinals. After two matches and two defeats, Guatemala and Panama were therefore eliminated from the CAC Games, finishing in 5th-6th place.

The semifinals were also played as Bo1s, with the Dominican Republic, winners of Group A, facing and defeating Honduras to advance to the final, while Colombia beat their Venezuelan neighbors to reach the grand final. In the bronze medal match, the latter came out on top against Honduras, who therefore finished just off the podium. In a one-sided grand final, Colombia controlled the game and secured the gold medal with a 2-0 victory over the host nation.

The difference in level was logical, with the only player from the Dominican Republic competing in Liga Regional Norte being its jungler Juan Dimitry "Dimitry" Hernández González, who played for Kits Esports in Stage 2. On the Colombian side, all five players competed in the LNR this season, including toplaner Víctor Leandro "" Durango García and midlaner Jairo Camilo "Zelt" Urbina Orozco, who won the second split with . The Colombian toplaner also competes in the NACL, where he plays for Maryville University.

It is also worth noting that Venezuela's bronze medal-winning roster included Andrés "Starhide" Briceño, David "NANINI" Nannini, and Jose "Sweeho" Urrieche, all three of whom play for in the LNR.

Unsurprisingly, the most dominant country at these Central American and Caribbean Games, Mexico, was absent from all three esports competitions. Its overwhelming dominance at the event, with more than 160 gold medals and over 370 medals overall, as well as its expected first place in the overall standings, was therefore not reflected here. Nevertheless, esports did play a part in the medal table, notably for Panama, whose gold medal in eFootball helped bring its tally to six gold medals and secure a top-10 finish in the overall standings.

Colombia, meanwhile, with more than 80 gold medals and over 250 medals overall, is guaranteed second place, helped slightly by the additional gold medal won in League of Legends. For the host nation, the Dominican Republic, this silver medal is all the more important as its fourth place in the overall standings was under threat from Venezuela ahead of the final day, with the two countries very close in terms of gold and silver medals. The esports competition also ended as expected, with FGC superstar Saul Leonardo "MenaRD" Mena II, a four-time EVO winner, claiming victory on Street Fighter 6.

Gold medal - Jhonnatan David MORA MORENO (Panama)
Silver medal - Arnaldo Emmanuel VÁSQUEZ MARROQUÍN (Guatemala)
Bronze medal - Carlos Luis SALAZAR MORENO (Venezuela)

Gold medal - Saul Leonardo "MenaRD" Mena II (Dominican Republic)
Silver medal - Raúl Eliseo COGLEY MORENO (Panama)
Bronze medal - Jorge Salvador "Salvatore" Velasquez Araujo (Venezuela)