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MLBB kicks off 2024 with PH imports returning to Manila

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AC Coloma

ABS-CBN News

<p>MANILA -- Big bucks and the idea of working outside the Philippines remain eye candy for Filipino Mobile Legends: Bang Bang players trying their luck overseas.</p><p>Analysts and experts alike have predicted an influx of Pinoy players participating after Kairi &quot;Kairi&quot; Rayosdelsol won three MPL titles in Indonesia and one MSC title. And while other imports enjoyed similar success abroad, their longevity outside of the Philippines suggest otherwise.</p><div><a href="https://news.abs-cbn.com/sports/12/03/23/m5-kairi-yeb-get-rock-star-treatment-in-ph-homecoming">M5: Kairi, Yeb get rock star treatment in PH homecoming</a></div><p>Perhaps one of the strongest Pinoy players to ever be listed as an ML:BB import is Kairi&#x27;s fellow jungler Jonard &quot;Demonkite&quot; Caranto, who has one MPL Philippines title and one Mobile Legends: Bang Bang Southeast Asia Cup to his name. </p><div><br/></div><div><span class="fr-img-caption fr-fic fr-dib" style="width:950px"><span class="fr-img-wrap"><img src="https://od2-image-api.abs-cbn.com/prod/editorImage/17104630384251710463076824.png" style="width:950px" class="fr-fic fr-dib"/><span class="fr-inner" style="text-align:left">Demonkite when he played for RSG PH in MPL Philippines Season 9. <em id="isPasted">Courtesy: MPL Philippines/File. </em></span></span></span></div><p>While his career in MPL Malaysia was promising after he was named season MVP as he steered RSG Malaysia to the top seed, the team ultimately fell short in the playoffs.</p><p>For both Demonkite and Kusey, the comfort of being able to communicate well with their own teammates and the Filipino discipline in scrimmages prevail.</p><p>“After noong experience ko sa Malaysia, parang mas nalaman ko ang worth ng country na pinaglalaruan ko. Parang mas na-feel ko na mas deserve ko maglaro sa Pilipinas. Mas iba &#x27;yung passion sa laro sa ibang country kaysa sa Pilipinas,” Demonkite told the press during the media day.</p><p>“Halos lahat ng team dito workaholic. Gina-grind talaga nila para lumakas. Hindi ko siya masyadong nakita nung nag-Malaysia ako,” he added.</p><p>(After my experience in Malaysia, I found out the worth of my country. I feel like I deserve to play in the Philippines because the passion in other countries is quite different. Almost all of the teams here work hard. They grind games to become stronger. I didn&#x27;t see that when I went to Malaysia.) </p><div><br/></div><div><span class="fr-img-caption fr-fic fr-dib" style="width:950px"><span class="fr-img-wrap"><img src="https://od2-image-api.abs-cbn.com/prod/editorImage/17104632193241710463259116.png" style="width:950px" class="fr-fic fr-dib"/><span class="fr-inner" style="text-align:left">SeeYouSoon winning the MPL Cambodia title.<em> Courtesy: MPL Cambodia</em><em></em><em id="isPasted"></em></span></span></span></div><p>Kusey agreed: “[Dahil sa] Language barrier. Nami-miss kong makipag-communicate gamit Tagalog. And ayun din. Mas feel kong deserve ko maglaro. Iba talaga sa Pinas. RG [Ranked Game] pa lang magaling na.</p><p>(Because of the language barrier, I missed communicating in Tagalog. It&#x27;s different here, you go on ranked games alone and you can see [randoms] doing well)</p><div><strong>Problems seeping through the cracks </strong></div><p>The influx of imports started after Onic Philippines let go of the squad which went to the M3 World Championships in Singapore a couple of years back.</p><p>Kairi, along with Gerald &quot;Dlarskie&quot; Trinchera, Jaylord &quot;Hate&quot; Gonzales, Allen Jedric &quot;Baloyskie&quot; Baloy, Mark &quot;Markyyy&quot; Capacio, all pursued careers across MPL leagues abroad in different teams.</p><div><a href="https://news.abs-cbn.com/video/sports/09/16/23/mlbb-dlar-talks-about-time-in-indonesia-return-to-ph-pros">After Indonesia departure, Dlar says he is open to playing in MPL PH</a></div><p>Among the most controversial was Dlar&#x27;s benching despite his veteran status in the Philippines. EVOS Legends&#x27; coaching staff even had to come out and explain why, but conflicting reports suggested that such coaching decisions sowed discord.</p><p>Dlar then also admitted to language barriers, even needing to learn Bahasa Indonesia in just a short time so he could catch up with his teammates.</p><div><br/></div><div><span class="fr-img-caption fr-fic fr-dib" style="width:950px"><span class="fr-img-wrap"><img src="https://od2-image-api.abs-cbn.com/prod/editorImage/17104632950041710463334030.png" style="width:950px" class="fr-fic fr-dib"/><span class="fr-inner" style="text-align:left">Dlar during his debut MPL Indonesia game.<em> Courtesy: MPL Indonesia</em></span></span></span></div><div id="isPasted" style="color:rgb(0, 0, 0);letter-spacing:normal;orphans:2;text-align:start;text-indent:0px;text-transform:none;widows:2;word-spacing:0px;-webkit-text-stroke-width:0px;white-space:normal;text-decoration-thickness:initial;text-decoration-style:initial;text-decoration-color:initial"><figure data-feedback="fb:likes,fb:comments" style="margin:0px;background-color:rgb(243, 246, 247)"></figure></div><p>In Cambodia, Pinoys leading teams to MPL titles do not guarantee longevity in the team.</p><p>For instance, Mariusz &quot;Donut&quot; Tan, after just one year, moved to Pro Esports where he joined Michael &quot;MPTheKing&quot; Endino, who came off a short stint from M5 reps SeeYouSoon.</p><p>Of all the current imports, only Kairi and Baloyskie have stayed in one team for at least a year, with both gaining notoriety.</p><p>And of the five of the country&#x27;s first wave of imports, Hate is now with the Philippines, while Dlar and Markyyy are with different other teams.</p><div><strong>Offers overseas </strong></div><p>MPL veterans hard-lucked in Manila continue to get lucrative offers from other teams overseas.</p><p>For example, John Paul “H2Wo” Salonga admitted to receiving offers from other teams the moment he became dormant in the scene, and so did his teammate Dexter &quot;EXORT&quot; Martinez.</p><p>&quot;Para sa &#x27;kin kasi Pinas ang pinakamalakas na region kaya feeling ko if pupunta ako sa ibang bansa, hihina ako. Kaya ako naman ay nag-stay,&quot; H2wo, who turned down offers to stay with a rebuilding Smart Omega squad, said.</p><p>&quot;Mas gusto ko kasi maglaro dito sa Pilipinas kasi sobrang competitive dito sa Pilipinas kaysa sa ibang bansa at mahihirapan ako. Nai-imagine ko na sa Indonesia ako mahirap ang communication kasi kailangan kong aralin ang language nila,&quot; he added.</p><p>While this is the case, other A-tier players such as Tristan &quot;Yawi&quot; Cabrera and Eman &quot;EMANN&quot; Sangco still pushed their luck and tried careers overseas. Yawi is currently in AURA Fire, while Emann is in Bigetron Alpha, both in rival territory Indonesia.</p><p>Season 13 of MPL Philippines will start on March 15.</p>

<p>Analysts and experts alike predicted an influx of Pinoy players participating after Kairi "Kairi" Rayosdelsol won three MPL titles in Indonesia and one MSC title.</p>

Analysts and experts alike predicted an influx of Pinoy players participating after Kairi "Kairi" Rayosdelsol won three MPL titles in Indonesia and one MSC title.