AS THE lone Pinoy playing for the upstart BloodThirstyKings of North America, the Filipino MLBB community was curious to know what Zia would do in case he gets the opportunity to play in the MPL Philippines.
Still, as the midlaner clarified in a livestream hosted by MPL shoutcaster Dan “Leo” Cubangay, he was still was unsure of the prospect of playing in the Philippines. Everything will depend on on the offer that he’ll receive, or the possibilities of an MPL season in his region.
“Hindi ko alam kung makakauwi ako eh. Depende talaga sa offer kung worth it iwanan yung Canada para makapaglaro ng pro doon or hintayin ko na lang MPL-NA dito. If coming,” he said.
But if he were to indulge in hypotheticals, ZIA expressed interest in joining the newly formed “super team” of ECHO PH, due to the heroics of his idol and M2 MVP, Karl “KarlTzy” Nepomuceno.
“Kase idol ko si Karl," said ZIA. "Ang lakas mag-jungle lalo noong M2.”
ZIA has a love-hate relationship with his midlane role
If ZIA gets the chance to play for ECHO PH, his flexibility would be an asset as he could play as either a midlane or a jungler, though the latter would be his preferred choice given his flaws as a midlaner.
During the M3 World Championships, ZIA had to make a transition from jungler to midlaner as BTK was forced to let go of their original midlaner, Huy, due to his underaged status.
This forced the team to pick up ZIA, who played for rival team Generation X during the North American qualifiers.
“Hindi pa po fully adjusted," he admitted. "Minsan talaga nag-aasim ako bilang mage. Nakasanayan ko yung pagiging jungler.”
He even recalled an instance in the M3 World Championship where he was forced to deploy a Lunox mid, which was never part of his arsenal.
“Wala pong praktis yun! Kumbaga wala lang choice nun eh. Tanggal Pharsa, nakuha ata Yve, banned Lylia, so it’s either Selena, Kag(ura), or Lunox.”
He added: “Basta nakuha ko yung Pharsa, Lylia, and Yve, confident na ako!”
When Leo asked about his Selena, he only had doubts on his mind.
“Malabo, mahina!”
Yet despite his flaws as a midlaner, BTK was able to accomplish the impossible and earn a respectable third place finish in the M3 World Championship, a milestone moment that could potentially open the windows for an MPL scene in North America.
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