M4: Zico rues missed opportunities, but thankul for world series run

JAKARTA, Indonesia — For Burn x Flash coach John Michael "Zico" Dizon, everything was going smoothly heading into the M4 World Championship playoffs — until he caught COVID-19.

Everything else spiraled out of control for the Cambodian champs afterwards, he said.

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The former Nexplay EVOS coach recalled the struggles the squad faced as he coached his team from his hotel room after testing positive for COVID-19.

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"Noong una excited ako, and now I just feel overwhelmed because of the event. Pero masaya [ako na] nakabalik ako ng world stage," he told reporters after absorbing a 0-2 loss against North America's The Valley in the lower bracket knockout stages.

More importantly, for Zico, staying healthy and being cautious have now become a priority. "Biggest lesson para sa'kin [ay] mag-ingat, para 'di magka-COVID," he mused.

"Doon kasi nagsimula eh. Noong trainings, wala ako. Lalo na sa stage, first day sa Falcon tinry ko naman mag-online pero hindi kami magkaintindihan. Ang puwede lang naming kausapin is 'yung manager namin, kaya sobrang hirap," he added.

The coach lamented time apart from his team for most of their world stage run. Nonetheless, he remained thankful for the opportunity.

"Feel ko kung 'di ako nagka-COVID kaya namin mag-upper bracket eh. Kasi iba talaga 'yung impact pag kasama ko sila, kaysa sa wala ako na hindi nila alam kung ano ang gagawin," he said.

Zico said the team will be resting during the world championship run.