Finally, Renejay has the mind of a champion

There is something about Renejay Barcarse that just disarms people. But it’s not his funny punchlines or his TikTok dance moves. It’s not the hype talk that many esports players usually employ to the delight of the press and the MPL. No, it’s something even rarer: candor.

Renejay Barcarse is not ashamed of anything from his past. When Esquire Philippines published his first-ever feature two years ago, he wasn’t ashamed to talk about doing manual labor as a kid, hauling pigs to the market, and growing up poor. The Renejay Barcarse today has changed a lot, but he retained that unreserved honesty.

During our conversation three days ago, he wasn’t ashamed to admit that Blacklist International is a much better team than Nexplay EVOS, his former organization.

“Noong napunta po ako ng Blacklist, doon ko po nakita yung work ethic nila, kung gaano po sila kagrabe magtrabaho. Mayroon po talaga silang goal. Makikita mo po talaga na deserve po nila yung mga nakukuha nila kasi pinaghihirapan talaga nila,” Renejay tells SPIN.ph.

“Hindi mo ba nakita yun sa Nexplay dati?” we asked.

“Nakita naman po pero hindi katulad ng nakita ko sa Blacklist. Parang may ginagawa din po kami sa Nexplay pero mas maganda lang po yung ginagawa namin sa Blacklist. Parang next level lang po yung ginagawa namin dito.”

His former team was hounded by issues concerning its former coach, who allegedly punished players by revoking their rest days every time they lost a match—they were not allowed to go home, multiple sources from that boot camp said. Players were mentally exhausted, with some undergoing depression. That was around the time Renejay almost quit esports.

For the first time, he talked about nearly quitting esports.

“Siguro po may mga season po na ayoko na rin. Parang gusto ko magpahinga kasi po naumay na po ako sa talo, palaging talo. Talo nang talo. Pero lagi ko sinasabi sa sarili ko na sige try lang, try. Pero sa mga talo po, marami naman akong natutunan.”

It was Naser Mollazehi, aka Dogie, who kept telling Renejay to stay in esports.

“Si Boss D rin, siya po yung nagpapa-line up sa akin noong Season 9 and 10. Huwag daw ako umalis, binigyan niya ako ng kumpiyansa para maglaro pa,” said Renejay.

Apart from Dogie, Renejay is arguably the first esports player who achieved celebrity status in the Philippines. He has over 14 million followers across his social media platforms and has successfully launched a musical career.

But fame does not earn you trophies in esports. That’s why he left Nexplay EVOS for Blacklist International.

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Renejay has changed a lot ever since he transferred to Blacklist.

“Noong nagpunta po ako ng Blacklist, po doon ko nakita yung work ethic nila, kung gaano po sila kagrabe magtrabaho. Meron po talaga silang goal. Sa Blacklist, hindi nagsasayang na oras. Wala po kami sinasayang na oras doon,” said Renejay.

With his recent performance as Roamer for Blacklist in Season 12, it was evident that his game has improved.

“Renejay, parang mas uhaw ka ngayong napunta ka sa Blacklist,” we said.

“Opo, iba yung pagiging competitive nila. Nahawaan po ako ng pagiging competitive Blacklist, hanggang sa naging mindset ko rin po yung mga mindset nila. Kahit hindi pa po ako nagtsa-champion, yung mindset ko, parang champion na.”

Every day, Renejay would be the first to wake up in the boot camp at 9 a.m.—quite an ungodly hour for people in esports teams, who usually start the grind at 1 p.m. After having coffee, he would take a shower and wake up his fellow teammates and ask them to play ranked games on Mobile Legends: Bang Bang until lunchtime. After lunch, they would have scrims until night.

“Talagang binibigay po namin yung 100% namin,” Renejay said.

His day does not end after scrims. He goes back to work by reviewing his play before going to bed. It was something he had never done before.

“Sa sarili ko, ganoon po ginagawa ako. Nag-rereview ako araw-araw, in-improve ko laro po araw-araw. Nais-stress ako araw-araw, kasi araw-araw po nag-i-improve ako. Mas gusto ko po yung araw-araw akong parang nais-stress, tapos nahihirapan sa scrim kasi ibig sabihin, mas mag-i-improve pa po ako. Hindi katulad na parang madali na lang sa akin lahat. ”

ILLUSTRATION: Abo Limos

Who is Renejay outside esports?

Six days a week, Renejay dedicates 100 percent of his time and energy to work. But what kind of life does he have outside MLBB and esports?

“Sa labas ng MLBB, family-oriented po ako. More on bonding sa family, sa mga kaibigan ko dati. So pag umuuwi po ako sa Bataan, puro gala, tas libre ko sila. Kain tayo dito, kwentuhan, kain lang, tas libre ko ulit. Lagi ko nililibre para lagi sila sumama sa akin at para makapag bonding kami.

“Pero pag day off po, day off lang ako. Nagpapahinga ako talaga para pagka dating ng practice day, talagang palong palo ulit ako mag-practice kasi na-miss ko ulit mag-ML.

Pag umuwi po sa amin, mindset ko, me time.”

Renejay sorely misses his grandmother, who passed away during the pandemic. He revealed she is the reason why he is still playing Mobile Legends.

“Sobrang close ko po yung Lola ko. Lagi po si Lola bumibisita tuwing umuuwi ako. Tapos parang, lagi niya rin ako hinahanap pag umuuwi ako. Lagi kami magkasama. Nagkukuwentuhan lang po kami palagi.”

Back when Renejay was not yet an esports player, he would stay at his Lola’s house because there was wifi there.

“Tuwing naglalaro po ako, tinitimplan po niya ako lagi ng kape. Pinapa-connect niya ako sa wifi nila. Tapos doon niya rin po ako pinapakain para hindi na po ako umuwi sa amin,” Renejay told SPIN.ph.

“Gusto ko nga po magpatayo ng sarili kong bahay sa Bataan para malapit sa puntod ni Lola.”

Renejay considers his hometown in Bataan as his safe place where he could withdraw from the high-octane world of esports. It reminds him of his Lola’s tenderness toward her favorite apo.

“Sobrang halaga po niya sa akin kasi isa rin po siya sa inspiration ko kung ba't ako nagpapatuloy sa paglaro,” said Renejay.

Apart from where his roots are, Bataan is also the reason why Renejay joined Blacklist.

“Alam nyo po yung feeling na lilipat po ako sa Blacklist pero may kilala ako? Medyo hirap din po ako pumili dati ng team dati kasi sa ibang team, parang lahat sila, pakikisamahan ko sa una. Pero sa Blacklist, mayroon akong safe zone,” said Renejay.

His “safe zone” was Edward and Coach Bon Chan, who are Renejay’s tournament buddies in Bataan. Even before he became an esports player, he was already close to Edward and Bon Chan.

“Close na kayo dati bago ka mapunta sa Blacklist?” we asked.

“Opo, sobra. Lalo na si Edward. Si Coach Bon, nakakalaban ko siya sa mga small tournaments po sa Bataan. Si Edward naman po yung kakampi ko sa Bataan. So si Edward po yung Gold Laner namin. Ako yung Mid Laner. Tapos si Edward din po yung kasabayan kong nagra-rank, nagpa-1,000 stars kami. Kaya close ko po talaga si Edward kasi magkalapit lang kami bahay,” Renejay revealed.

During his first days in Blacklist, it was Edward who taught him how not to get lost and how to fit in. Bon Chan also helped him by telling him about how things were run at Blacklist.

“Kunwari, hindi ko alam saan pupunta dito, nandiyan si Edward para sabihin sa akin. At si Coach Bon para ituro sa akin kung ano yung pamamalakad nila sa Blacklist, kung paano yung gagawin kong galaw. So nandun po kasi si Edward at si Coach Bon kaya mas gusto ko din po sa Blacklist kasi mga taga-Bataan kami.”

‘Na-trashtalk po ako ni Kairi dati sa ranked game!’

But another famous player from Bataan is Kairi Rayosdelsol, who is arguably Indonesia’s most feared Jungler. Together, Renejay, Edward, Bon Chan, and Kairi would be nicknamed “Bataan Boys.” They would hang out together in their hometown when they had the chance.

“Nakakalaban mo na nun si Kairi bago ka nag esports?” we asked,

“Opo, nakakalaban ko si Kairi. Parang na-trashtalk po ako ni Kairi dati sa ranked game!”

Renejay laughs.

“Ano sabi ni Kairi?”

“Tina-trashtalk ko daw po siya eh! Kasi sabi ko mga team nila, mga ipis. Trashtalker po akong sobra noon eh! Parang ano, wala pa akong pakialam sa nararamdaman niya. Tina-trashtalk ko si Kairi, so tinrashtalk niya ako sa ranked game. Tapos hindi ko alam na taga-Bataan pala siya. Tapos kaklase pa siya ng pinisan ko!”

He pauses for a moment, relishing the old days.

A lot has changed about Renejay. He is no longer a trashtalker, and he has learned to embrace defeat only to learn from it no matter how many times. It is his lifelong dream to add his name to the very short list of champions in the MPL scene.

“Mas gusto ko po yung nag-struggle ako. Para kapag nanalo ako sa MPL, ibig sabihin, deserve ko, kasi lahat iyon, pinaghirapan ko.”

PHOTO: Blacklist International ILLUSTRATION: Abo Limos