AFTER CIS' DEUS VULT secured a grindy 2-1 victory over North America's TheOhioBrothers, the former's gold laner, Carl "Carvi" Tinio saw a Jollibee Chicken Joy and Spaghetti meal near the media area.
With a smile on his face, he grabbed the meal, savored his first bite, bringing back shades of his childhood.
Carvi is a full-blooded Filipino competing in the M5 World Championship, however in the M5 playerbase, he was listed as a Norwegian.
In an interview with SPIN.ph, Carvi revealed that he was born and raised in Bohol until a sudden twist of events forced him to move to Norway.
"I was born in Jagna, Bohol and then I was raised in Poblacion (Bohol) by my grandpa, mostly by my grandpa and aunties because my mom really studied hard for us and for me, and then she met someone over a business thing, I think."
"She was very happy with him so we wanted to move to another country to make our life better since Norway is a very beautiful country," he narrated.
This happened when he was a nine-year-old kid back in 2015. He's been staying there ever since.
Life in Norway
In Norway, Carvi's life is totally different from that in the Philippines. In terms of government benefits, things were like a free gold lane in Mobile Legends.
"We had access to everything, medical insurance was free, dentist was free, going to school was free, I love it in Norway," explained Carvi.
Then when talking about the education system, Carvi explained how the system in Europe molded him.
"At first it was very different because in terms of schooling, in the Philippines it was chaotic, you could do whatever you want. In Norway there was more discipline because the teachers wanted you to succeed in school and they taught you how to be nice." he started.
"So I've changed a lot compared to my cousins in the Philippines who are crazier than me (laughs)."
But of course, there are other aspects from the Philippines he missed. He told SPIN.ph that he last visited the country 3-4 years ago.
"That would be the culture and the night life because at night there's a lot of street food and people. In Norway there's not a lot of people, there's like five to six million compared to the Philippines which almost has like a hundred million, so there's a lot of people to hangout with or talk to."
But it's not only about the night life, as he also missed some of the tourist attractions in Bohol.
"I also miss Bohol, the Chocolate Hills, the beaches, and the caves, even though I don't like caves, I missed those things."
And upon encountering the different cultures, Carvi hinted how his overall experience forged his personality.
"People in the Philippines are more extroverted, they love to talk. In Norway, people there are shy. I'm actually a little bit of both."
Venturing into the Land of Dawn
Three years after he left for Norway, Carvi was given the chance to return back to his roots.
With him in the Philippines, his relatives introduced him to the country's most popular video game, Mobile Legends Bang Bang.
"I was 12 when I first returned to the Philippines from Norway, then my cousins were playing a game (Mobile Legends), then they introduced it to me," narrated the Norwegian gold laner.
While playing with relatives could be a fun experience, as the bonds of family could be a wholesome moment, for Carvi it was...toxic.
"I was like, 'Oh this seems kinda fun,' but I was so bad compared to them. I got bullied, they said, 'Let me play on your phone, you're so bad, ranking up," said Carvi.
He was so 'bad' that his uncle even snatched the phone away from him, something that brought smiles to Carvi when he looked back.
"My uncle he didn't give me my phone for two hours because he wanted to play rank and he knew I was bad, so I called my grandpa and he took the phone away from my uncle (laughs)."
Becoming a pro player
His experience didn't dampen his morale and in fact it pushed him to strive harder. He was left motivated to prove that he could match the skill level of his cousins.
"So I went back to Norway and I played, and played a lot. I stopped for a bit, but I returned because I got so addicted," he said.
"I didn't want to be left behind from my cousins so I continued then suddenly I became so good, I garnered skills, joined some good teams."
Among those good teams was Rogue Esports, where he met his fellow M5 teammate, Mathaios "Kid Bomba" Chatzilakos.
It was in Rogue, where the Bohol-raised player was carved.
"They were (Rogue Esports) also very strong, we always won in every tournament. Every finals was a sweep. From there I became really good because Kid Bomba, he was with me. He was our captain before and then he pushed me really hard."
Carvi added: "He really pushed me to my limits that I became super good in this game that I needed to swap to a stronger server (CIS).
The transition from the European server to CIS turned out to be a blessing for Carvi as this led to his arrival to Deus Vult, a team which he branded as a family.
"They (Deus Vult) were looking for a gold laner and so they took me in, to see how I fared, and I played good, so they took me as part of the team, and now as a family," Carvi reflected.
And with his new family, Carvi is now in the world stage, driven to succeed.
Proving his doubters wrong
With him once again back in home soil, it was time for Carvi to finally slay the demons of his past.
From being a victim of bullying, he is now standing tall over his cousins as he is the one playing in the world stage.
"My family is watching from Bohol, they're supporting me a lot. I would just thank everyone from Bohol for supporting me. It motivates me to win as much as I can and do my best so that they can see that this guy who they bullied is better than them, and better than the others in M5 too," as stated by Carvi to SPIN.ph.
Unfortunately his entire family wouldn't be able to fly to Manila to watch him live in the big stage, but his uncle is currently with him to take care of him.
And as his M5 campaign ends, Carvi would want to go back to his hometown and enjoy the bond with his family.
"When I come home, I'd better get that lechon and we're going to be swimming a lot, and we go out to this food park, and I'll see you soon after M5."
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