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    From aspiring MPL pro player to shoutcaster, how Santie ended up in MPL S9

    Being the youngest, he is determined to prove his worth
    Feb 16, 2022
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    SANTIE “Santie” Magcalas’ arrival in the MPL-PH talent pool for Season 9 was a surprise, as many Mobile Legends fans were expecting the return of two MPL shoutcasting icons, “Sh1n Boo” Ponferrada and Rob Luna.

    But no one was more surprised than Santie himself.

    “Hindi ko talaga ma-digest na mag-e-MPL na ako," he said in an interview with Spin.ph. "Hindi po kase expected ngayong season. Yung pagpili sa akin biglaan. Hindi ako nagkaroon ng time mag-prepare talaga!”

    In fact, he believed that he probably needed to wait until Season 10 or 11 to finally make his breakthrough.

    But here he is.

    But then again, his journey into the MPL has always been filled with other twists and turns.

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      A professional player in the making

      For Santie, being a professional player in the MPL was actually his main goal in life. He kept on grinding in the community tournaments, until one incident shunted him into the shoutcaster career path.

      “Hindi ako yung caster kase competitive MLBB player ako sa mga community tournament,” he recounted. “May squad kami, anim kami dun. So nasa main five ako, meron kaming 6th man which is siya yung kukunin as caster sana.”

      He added: “Tapos yung ending nun, yung ka-squad namin na yun, strict yung parents niya so hindi siya pinapayagan na lumabas o umabot ng gabi. So ang ending, ‘Sige ikaw na lang.’ So parang ako, hindi ko talaga siya gusto. Gusto ko talaga maglaro ng tournament.”

      Despite his initial hesitance, Santie decided to push through. While you wouldn't blame him for delivering a half-hearted performance, Magcalas actually exerted his time and effort to deliver his best. With limited production resources, he knew he needed to think out of the box.

      “Wala kaming internet sa bahay, may laptop lang ako. Naghanap ako na pwedeng pwestuhan and luckily may tropa akong may pisonet. Yung setup ko, dinadala ko yung laptop ko every cast, tapos hihiram ako ng LAN cable sa isa sa mga PC niya, then magbabayad ako sa kanya kung gaano ako katagal dun.”

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      To fine tune his shoutcasting craft, he got inspiration from the “Manjeanboo” tandem of Manjean Faldas and Shinboo Ponferrada. “Kung magsha-shoutcast ka at wala kang idea or wala akong alam kung paano siya sisimulan so ang ginawa ko, nanood na lang ako ng Manjeanboo tandem na highlights.”

      During his shoutcast, there were a lot of unwanted noises leaking into the mic, from kids screaming and playing in the background to buses and cars traversing the road.

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      But that never deterred Santie. The community, it seemed, also appreciated his efforts.

      “Natuwa ako kase may mga tao dun na nagsabi na ‘Uy! Ang galing mo.’ Parang yun din yung nag-start sa akin na pwede ko pala itong i-pursue,” he recalled.

      Santie at a crossroads

      Yet amid the promising start in his shoutcasting career, there was still a lingering sense of doubt as Santie grappled with the dilemma between studying and playing MLBB over shoutcasting.

      But then a random post from AcadArena inspired Santie to pursue the latter.

      “Tapos random, nakita ko sa AcadArena page yung TMP Wave 2 registration," he said.
      "11:59 [p.m.] magko-close yung Google form, nakapag-fill up ako mga 11:30. Sobrang buzzer beater niya dahil that time ko lang siya nakita."

      He only submitted one reel, which he thought would never make an impact. But it was enough to get him chosen for Wave 2. But even then, he even admitted to his mentor, Dan “Leo" Cubangay, that shoutcasting was never in his dreams.

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      “Pero dahil tinaggap nila ako sa Wave 2, nabuhayan ako.”

      In the real world, Santie was also going through his fair share of hardships.

      “At that time po kase talaga, independent na ako so I’m living alone sa Iloilo, kase nagsu-schooling ako. Since wala kaming internet sa Capiz, pumunta ako sa Iloilo para mag-take risk na magre-rent ako ng sarili ko na may internet. para ma-pursue ko yung schooling ko kasirequired yan sa online schooling.”

      Forced to be his own breadwinner, he even briefly considered raket as a Foodpanda or Grab rider.

      But his mentors in TMP assured him that he will earn shoutcasting gigs, giving him a significant source of income.

      In fact, Leo told him, “Huwag kang mag-alala, hindi ka namin pababayaan.”

      Santie at the Next Caster Search.

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      Diving into the Next Caster Search

      When the opportunity for him to showcase his talents to the MPL stage via the Next Caster Search, it was time for Santie to finally deliver his best.

      While his previous auditions were rushed, he took his time and baked his sample video to perfection while incorporating his roots.

      “So ang ginawa ko sa tatlong videos na iyun, pinolish ko talaga. Gusto kong perfect na perfect. Yung introduction ko, gumawa ako ng rap tapos gusto kong lagyan ng branding ng Bisaya.”

      He added: “Yung English sample ko, dahil hindi ako comfortable magsalita ng English, ni-one go ko na lang. Yung sa Tagalog, sobrang gusto kong perfect siya kaya naka-50 takes ako.”

      Why was he so obsessed? Santie had spied some of the names that applied, and most of them have casted in tournaments like The Nationals and MPL. He realized that the competition was getting more intense.

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      He only aimed to reach the top eight, which luckily for him, became a reality.

      Though Santie was finally given the chance to fly to Manila and showcase his prowess, he realized that there was a lot for him to learn.

      Like the majority of the casters that were part of the final eight, Santie struggled in the tri-cast setup, which was further heightened by the immense pressure when he was partnered with Rob Luna and Manjean.

      "Aminado ako na dinala ako sa kaba!” he reflected. “Maganda yung play-by-play ko, pero hindi ako nag-connect sa dalawa. Nag-isolate ako!”

      He knew he would never be the winner of the competition, but that never dampened his morale. For him, it was an opportunity to reflect and assess his points for improvement.

      “Noong nag-announce na winner si OSX, sabi ko ‘Yes! Makakapraktis pa ako! Mahahanda ko pa sarili ko.'” Following his unsuccessful attempt in the Next Caster Search, Santie grinded his way across numerous amateur tournaments, casting for events like Juicy Legends.

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      His efforts eventually yielded his much-awaited MPL berth.

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        Entering the big leagues

        Now that he is in the MPL, Santie admitted that he is currently overwhelmed with the responsibilities he needs to shoulder, especially with fans comparing him to the two former MPL shoutcasters that blew the audiences away.

        “Yung isa ko pang worry is yung nangyari kay OSX, kase ang kino-compare, Shin Boo and Rob (Luna) eh. Yun yung hinahanap kase nila. So parang, ‘Bakit ka nandiyan? Dapat magustuhan ka namin,'” he reflected.

        But at the same time, he wishes to add his own flavor in shoutcasting.

        “Natutuwa ako na binigyan ako ng chance. Gusto kong lagyan ng kaunting phrases ng Ilonggo at Hiligaynon. May Ilonggo players kase tulad ni MPTheKing and S4gitnu [ng Nexplay EVOS].”

        And though he is currently the youngest in the MPL shoutcasting stage (20 years old), for Santie this should never be an excuse.

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        “As pinakabata, sobrang thankful ako kase pinaramdam nila sa akin sa team building (with fellow casters) na kuya, ate kami. Kaso ang ending nun, ako sa sarili ko, alam kong walang edad-edad dapat eh. Kahit nauna sila, kailangan mo silang pantayan. Ayoko kase gawing excuse na bata kase ako.”

        In fact, this became a motivation for him to prove his advocacy, especially knowing that he needs to balance his student life and esports career.

        “Gusto ko talagang maging pasok ko sa MPL up until the end, kung tumagal man ako, na ga-graduate ako habang nasa MPL ako, na parang napapatunayan mo na hindi naging hadlang yung esports. Ayokong i-sacrifice yung isa kase kaya naman talagang ipagsabay," he said.

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