International Master Oliver Dimakiling scored eight points and finished in second place in the tournament participated by some of the top chess players in the world.
Oliver, who recently won both the quick and blitz championships at the Diversity Chess Tournament, highlighted his strong performance with back-to-back victories in the last two rounds over top-seeded GM Farrukh Amonatov of Tajikistan and GM Alexander Zubarev of Ukraine.
Oliver was reminded of a game from 11 years ago during the victory versus Amonatov since it was such an engaging tactical battle.
Another Davaoeno Rowelyn "Joy" Acedo, an Arena Grand Master who is also a well-known chess streamer (check out her page Kajoooyax), was also awarded for being the tournament's highest female scorer, beating out two WGMs.
Joy, one of the Filipino instructors at Signature Chess Club entered the event with six points after pulling off a major upset over Uzbek GM Alexei Barsov, the sixth-seeded player, in the third round.
The tournament featured six GMs and numerous other titled players. In the seventh round, she also triumphed against Ukrainian WGM Ava Suleimanova, the ninth-seed and one of her primary competitors for the top women's prize, to secure a podium finish.