THE SECOND DAY of WEEK 8 of the MPL Philippines saw teams desperately fight their way to secure their playoff slots, and both Nexplay EVOS and RSG Slate Philippines displayed a huge level of grit and determination during their matchup.
This was evident with how the teams prepared themselves in this match. While Nexplay went aggressive in invading the Raiders, Coach Brian "Panda" Lim responded by inserting John "1rrad" Abarquez.
This was a massive gamble for Coach Panda, given that this match is an important, must-win game yet it seemed his decision paid off as 1rrad made crucial plays to give his team their coveted playoff slot.
But for 1rrad to finally make his debut in Season 11, there were a lot of growing pains he had to endure.
How 1rrad ended up in the MDL
When 1rrad made his MPL Invitational debut, he had high hopes that this could be his breakthrough moment, in fact the timing was perfect as Jonard Cedrix "Demonkite" Caranto was taking his leave.
But that wasn't the case as the arrival of John Paul "H2wo" Salonga, stomped his ascent. 1rrad was then sent to the Mobile Legends Development League (MDL).
When asked as to why Coach Panda preferred H2wo, he realized that the former Nexplay jungler had more experience.
"Yung main weakness ni 1rrad dati, is that he only has mechanics pero he doesn’t know how to shotcall and medyo mahina siya mag-secure ng objectives kase yung gamestyle niya talaga is secure ng farm and kill," revealed Coach Panda in the press conference.
"And that is why I put him down to MDL because I found out that H2wo can actually more contribute to the team in a way where he has more communication than 1rrad."
Coach Panda's judgement was evident with the way he conversed with 1rrad regarding his MDL demotion. His approach was upfront with no BS.
"Mas masakit yung sinabi sa akin noong time na iyon kase in-announce na MDL lang ako tapos MPL si H2wo, hindi ko matanggap sa sarili ko tapos kinausap ako, nag-1-v-1 kami," revealed 1rrad.
He added: "Ang huling sinabi niyang sinabi sa akin, dalawa lang pagpipilian mo, kung gagalingan mo lang lalo or maging walang kwenta akong player."
Afterwards, Panda literally slammed the door in front of his face.
The MDL experience
With how Panda acted towards him, 1rrad was left shattered, humbled, but in the end he became more motivated to prove his worth in the development league.
"Mas nakatulong sa akin yung pagkababa ko sa MDL. Noong una kase, hindi ko matanggap na MDL lang ako kase feeling ko nakakuha ako ng magandang exposure sa MPL Invitational tapos bumaba ako sa MDL."
"Ayun na-motivate po ako kase sobrang nakaka-breakdown yung nangyari sa akin. Binigay ko lang yung best ko sa MDL tapos hindi ako natatakot magkamali kase may sarili akong mindset na kung takot kang magkamali, mahina kang player," reflected 1rrad.
Eventually Coach Panda saw the need to bring him back to the main stage, and while this was finally his moment to shine, he was emotional as he had to say his goodbyes to his former teammates.
"Ayun hanggang sa nakitaan ako ng potential ni coach na finally nasa MPL na, grinab ko na rin pero nakakalungkot na kase naiwan ko yung mga kakampi ko na naging...ayun talaga yung nagturo sa akin kase...kapag nanonood ako ng mga tournaments, parang gusto kong gawin, sila yung ginagawa kong praktisan."
What 1rrad offers?
With RSG having mixed results in Season 11, it was time for Coach Panda to make the necessary changes.
He noticed one important weakness in this team: the lack of aggression.
“What we felt is that medyo kulang pa sa aggressiveness sa gamestyle because if you think about Season 9 RSG gamestyle, we were really strong sa teamfights tsaka sa aggressiveness, parang we were always the one chasing the enemy and the enemies backed away," revealed Coach Panda.
He added: "Coming to Season 11, since bago pa lang kami, parang the players naguguluhan sila, anong kailangan gawin, anong shotcall, anong dapat communication dito? So that is what showed against Blacklist and Bren, sa dalawang lose streak."
Given the need to introduce a new flavor, Coach Panda realized that he needs more flexibility in the jungler role. Both H2wo and 1rrad have varying playstyle that would compliment RSG's gameplan in the upcoming playoffs.
"1rrad is very aggressive, he is more of a selfish, self-centered jungler who wants to get lots of farm first, meanwhile si H2wo is more of a selfless jungler, who really will sacrifice himself to the team. What I need is a balance of those two."
"In the playoffs, we will try H2wo and 1rrad, both at the same time for preparation and see if I can balance their gamestyle so they can learn from each other and overall I have the best optimal lineup for the playoffs," said Coach Panda.
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