MYANMAR'S FALCON Esports had one of the most inspiring storylines back in the MSC 2022. For a team that just returned to the competitive stage, with only a few months of preparation for the regional tilt, they finished fourth overall, losing to Omega Esports.
It was a scene-rattling debut for the Burmese team. They stunned Onic Esports out of the tournament, and gave RSG Philippines a potential scare during the playoff rounds — an impressive feat for a team that missed the M3 World Championship and other tournaments due to the political strife in Myanmar.
Now competing in the M4 world series, Falcon is hoping that they could soar even higher, especially with Filipino coach Steven “Dale” Vitug at the helm.
At a Jakarta press conference, Dale revealed why he chose to coach in Myanmar after spending years in the MPL-PH.
“The one thing that made me decide to Coach in Myanmar is because their playstyle is interesting," he says. "If you go back to M2, if you watch Burmese Ghouls how they play, that’s the reason why I chose Myanmar.”
Back in the M2 World Championship, Dale was coaching Omega Esports, who ended with a 5th-6th place finish. It was also during that time that Burmese Ghouls made headlines for eliminating RRQ Hoshi and nearly beating Bren Esports in the grand finale.
Dale then made the bold move to take his talents to Aura PH, leading the team to third place in Season 7. When the team became ECHO PH in S8, Dale delivered a 5th-6th place run then decided to take a break.
In his return to the coaching scene as one of the big wave of Pinoy MLBB imports last year, Dale found no gap in the skill level between Filipinos and their Burmese counterparts.
“They are almost the same, but the difference is their tradition and culture. In terms of inside the game, they’re almost similar.”
How Coach Dale has impacted Falcon Esports
Falcon's jungler Kenneth “Kenn” Hein gave his thoughts on Dale’s important contributions to the team.
If back in the MSC, Falcon were renowned for their teamfight prowess, Dale tuned their game to emphasize the objectives.
“I think he helped us fix some things that we were missing a little bit. He was a big help also, because when he arrived, our gameplay became a little bit more objective-oriented," he said.
"I think we’re better than before since Dale joined.”
Dale will certainly be their aerial boost needed by the Falcons as they face off against the high-flying Blacklist International in the group stages.
“I think it will be an advantage for us since Dale is Filipino and he understands how Filipinos draft and he is familiar with the coaches so I think our match against Blacklist is interesting to watch.”
He added: “I think it can go both ways so I think it’s a 50-50. I think we have a fair shot of winning.”
Kenn is determined to make the most of their shot at M4.
“We’re very happy that we can play in the M-series because last year we missed out on the M-series so this year we are very grateful that we get to play in M-series. We want to play and try our best.”
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