Bulacan’s Rowena Garcia becomes the first woman to win the GameZone Tour Tong Its championship, taking home ₱500,000 and the coveted Championship Ring

For many Filipinos, Tong Its is more than just a  game. It is something familiar — played during family gatherings, reunions, fiestas, or whenever friends gather around a table for a little fun and friendly competition.

For Rowena Garcia of Bulacan, that familiar game has now become part of an unforgettable personal milestone.

Competing under the name Alas ng Bulacan, Garcia made history on Saturday after winning the GameZone Tour Season 5 Championship, becoming the first woman to claim the title in the competition’s five-season history.

She walked away with the ₱500,000 top prize and the Championship Ring, adding her name to a growing list of Tong Its champions.

But getting to that moment was anything but a one-day journey.

From daily games to the championship table

Season 5 ran from August 3 to September 19, with players competing in daily rounds and accumulating points throughout the season. The standings determined who would earn a place in the final nine.

For Garcia and the other finalists, every playdate mattered.

The nine highest-ranked players eventually faced off at the Grand Finals in Merville, Parañaque. From nine players, the field was reduced to three before Garcia emerged as the final champion.

The Grand Finals featured a ₱1 million prize pool shared among the nine finalists.

Richard Funtilar, representing Alas ng Quezon Province, finished second and received ₱200,000, while Donato Ebuena, Alas ng Rizal, placed third and took home ₱100,000.

Their journey to the final table reflected weeks of accumulated points and competition — a reminder that reaching the championship stage required consistency throughout the entire season.

The first woman in the winner’s circle

Garcia now stands apart in the GameZone Tour record books.

Before her, four men had claimed the championship: Mark Austria in Season 1, Benigno de Guzman Casayuran in Season 2, Jomar Sapo-an in Season 3, and Ahrold Tubig in Season 4.

Garcia becomes the fifth champion — and the first woman.

Her victory also adds a new dimension to a competition built around a game already deeply familiar to Filipino families.

“Almost every Filipino family knows Tong Its. You learn it at home, you play it with your friends. What GameZone does is bring that same table online — the same people, just digital,” said Ava Castillo, Official Spokesperson for GameZone, during a press conference held on the day of the finals.

A game that feels like home

The finalists represented different communities, carrying titles such as Alas ng Cebu, Alas ng Misamis Oriental, Alas ng Camarines Norte, Alas ng Sta. Mesa, Alas ng Quezon City, Alas ng Las Piñas, and others.

Their names reflect something uniquely Filipino about the game.

Tong Its travels wherever Filipinos gather — from one household to another, from neighborhoods to towns, and from casual family games to competitive play.

For generations, it has been played around plastic tables, during celebrations, and in ordinary moments when people simply want to spend time together.

GameZone Tour has spent five seasons giving that familiar pastime a more organized competitive structure, complete with seasons, standings, qualifying rounds and a championship title.

Its long-term ambition is to establish Tong Its as a professional competitive game, drawing on the same kind of organized structure that has helped other  games develop competitive communities.

The difference is that Tong Its already has something many games spend years trying to build: a place in Filipino everyday life.

Beyond the cards

The championship was also an opportunity for GameZone to highlight another side of its community — GoodZone, its social initiative that conducts feeding programs for children in partnership with Bless the Children Foundation.

The program reflects GameZone’s stated focus on saya and samahan — bringing people together not only through entertainment but also through community initiatives.

Adding to the celebration, GameZone ambassador Manny Pacquiao congratulated Garcia in a message posted on the GameZone Tour official Facebook page.

With Season 5 now in the books, the spotlight turns to the next chapter.

GameZone Tour Season 6 is set to follow in the fourth quarter of 2026.

For now, the championship belongs to Bulacan’s Rowena Garcia — the woman who made Tong Its history and became the game’s first GameZone Tour queen.