Cosplay Championship League 2019 goes to SM City Valenzuela

The winners of CCL 2019 together with the emcee, an event partner, and the panel of judges.

For the celebration of SM Super Malls' Cyber Month, Naruto Cosplayers PH and Red Cloud Interactive, in partnership with SM City Valenzuela, launched its annual Cosplay Championship League at SM City Valenzuela on August 10, 2019. It may be another round of exhilarating cosplay battle among veteran cosplayers, but for the newbies and amateurs, it is the best platform for them to attain insights from the panel of judges and be able to improve their craft.

Cosplay Championship League (CCL) 2019 Begins at SM City Valenzuela

Cosplayers are preparing for the competition in their costumes.

Anika Celestine is providing her insights on the performance of the Bronze Division contenders.

There were three categories in which there are specific requirements:

• Bronze Division - for the newbies and amateurs who have been cosplaying from 1–3 years, or have not won any cosplay event.
• Silver Division - for the cosplayers who have been a cosplayer for 4–5 years, and to those who have won a cosplay event once (this includes last year's winners).
• Gold Division - this is for veteran cosplayers who have won in various major cosplay events already.

The distinct panel of judges includes Sean Paul Gonzales, Otaku Choice Awardee for Costume Crafting, Anika Celeste, one of the Top 2 cosplayers of Cure World Cosplay for 2 consecutive years (2016 & 2017), and AJ Villacorte, a multitalented actor, blogger, and photographer who was selected as one of the winners of the DC Comics World Record event. The panel of judges followed a criteria that indicates the essential characteristics of a good and well-prepared cosplay.

Contenders of the cosplay event also joined an exciting game and laughed along with the audience.

From left to right: Sean Paul Gonzales, AJ Villacorte, and Anika Celeste posed for the camera as the event concludes.

Winners of Cosplay Championship League 2019 at SM City Valenzuela

At the end, the winners of the cosplay event were finally announced.

For the Bronze Category, Neil Aurelio and Paoleen Dizon won as the Best Male & Female Cosplayers. Neil portrayed Shinwen Red from the Japanese series Super Sentai, while Paoleen wore the Armored version of the iconic Sailor Moon.

In the Silver Category, Sandarah Dizon won as the Best Female Cosplayer for portraying Syndra of the online game League of Legends. Meanwhile, Nicholai Dizon won as the Best Male Cosplayer for portraying Guillotine Cross of Ragnarok.

As for the Gold Category, Jayson Tabuzo left the crowd in awe once again for his portrayal as the iconic Super Saiyan, Son Goku of Dragonball Super. And finally, Charie Bagotsay bagged the Best Female Cosplayer for her performance as the blind earth bender Toph Beifong of the Nickelodeon animation series Avatar: The Last Airbender .

The next wave of Cosplay Championship League 2019 will be on August 25 at SM Sangandaan, Caloocan City. To register online, kindly visit the Naruto Cosplayers Philippines website.

Article written by Mixed Genre Girl