This MMA fighter is the mastermind behind ECHO’s viral videos

Eugene Luciano, 26, knows taekwondo, boxing, jiujitsu, and wrestling. In the 2019 Philippine Beach Games, Luciano and his team won gold medal in the country’s first Beach Wrestling events.

Luciano was in high school when he started training in taekwondo, and then he started competing in intercollegiate meets during his time in college. But that was just part of his hobbies and many talents. Currently, Luciano is the art director of ECHO, the Filipino team that won the M4 World Championship in January 2023. At ECHO, Luciano is the brains behind the team’s viral videos, including their “Mang Kepweng” series, which won the team first place in the MPL’s content war for Season 10.

Content war is a term for the unofficial competition between local MPL teams to get the highest reach, engagement, and views in their pages’ content for the duration of the season. Teams are rewarded with in-game diamonds for Mobile Legends depending on their placement in the content war.

“Bago ako mapunta sa esports, nag-train ako maging graphic artist at nagtrabaho ako para sa isang company dito sa Philippines. Tapos, nag-post yung Aura about a job opening, so sinubukan ko.”

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Eugene Luciano is more than a videographer.

Mitch Liwanag, country manager of ECHO, previously described to this editor how Luciano is a very hardworking member of ECHO. According to Liwanag, Luciano always makes sure his deliverables are submitted on time, despite his many commitments with his other sidelines.

At ECHO, Luciano wears multiple hats. He conceptualizes content, writes the scripts, directs the shoot and photography, and edits his videos. He is the mastermind behind some of ECHO’s most viral videos.

ECHO S9 Roster Reveal

For ECHO’s Season 9 Roster Reveal video, Luciano shared win a previous interview with SPIN.ph that the players had no idea what was in store for them for the production.

“Di nila alam na magsusuntukan pala sila dun!” narrated Luciano. “Sila pa yung nagulat. 'Di kami nakikipagbarilan!' Nagbabarilan sa laro, oo, pero sa totoong buhay, wala silang idea.”

Flexing his martial arts prowess, Luciano directed the players to imitate what he was going to demonstrate. “Gayahin mo lang kung ano’ng ginagawa ko.”

ECHO’s Season 9 Roster Reveal video elevated the standard for the MPL’s succeeding roster reveals. Luciano masterfully directed another highly produced video for ECHO’s Season 10 roster reveal, which was inspired by K-Pop upon the request of Liwanag.

It’s a wonder how Luciano is able to keep up with work, especially while freelancing for two other jobs.

“May dalawa pa po akong sidelines,” Luciano tells SPIN.ph. “So, ngayon, tatlo po ang trabaho ko.”

Eugene Luciano even worked as a clown.

Before he came into esports, Eugene worked as a digital graphic artist, assistant videographer and photographer, and even worked as a clown.

“High school ako noon, nagsa-sideline ako. Nag-self-study ako sa pagdo-drawing, hanggang sa mapunta ako sa digital arts. Na-try ko na rin maging assistant clown. Lahat pinasok ko! Nagwork na rin ako sa birthday parties at nag face painting ako doon. Hanggang mapunta ako sa videography at photography,” says Luciano.

As a student who was struggling to make ends meet, Luciano did not have time to dream about esports. Luciano’s parents stopped working when he was in high school, forcing him to support himself on his own. Just like many Filipinos, Luciano is forced to take multiple jobs to pay for student loans and support his parents. “Hanggang ngayon, binabayaran ko pa po yung SSS para doon sa tuition ko noong college,” he says.

“Hindi ko naisip na mapupunta ako sa esports noon. Naiisip ko lang noon, nakatapos ng pag-aaral, makahabap ng trabaho, mabuhay, at kumain nang tatlong beses sa isang araw.”

‘Nalalagpasan niya expectations ko,’ Mitch Liwanag says of Eugene Luciano

When he finally came into esports in 2020, it was not easy sailing. Aura recruited Lucianon, but the pandemic made it difficult to thrive.

“Mahirap yung naging start, nasa boot camp kami noon, walang uwian. Ilang buwan rin kaming locked in, bawal rin magpunta sa boot camp nang hindi ka nagte-test for COVID-19.”

It was during that time in MPL Season 6 when Luciano met some of Aura’s mainstays, including Chan “Rafflesia” Fajura. He would form a close bond with Aura’s country manager Mitch Liwanag, before the team would rebrand into ECHO in Season 8.

“Never ko inexpect si Eugene na nag-clown din. Diyos ko, halos madurog puso ko,” Liwanag told SPIN.ph.

In a conversation with Liwanag, she revealed how it was Luciano who succeeded in making her first-born child smile during her first birthday party. “Ang hirap patawanin ni Cailee pero nagawan ni Eugene ng paraan.”

Liwanag also heaped praises on Luciano’s work ethic.

“Basta kapag may gusto ako ipa-execute kay Eugene, mas nalalagpasan niya ang expectations ko, kaya sobrang nagkakasundo kami ni Eugene sa work,” added Liwanag.