ESPORTS

Burn X Flash coach Zico hopes to see more Filipinos try their luck abroad

JAKARTA — The slogan "Pinas Lang Malakas" isn't just a slogan made to support the Filipinos competing in the Mobile Legends: Bang Bang M4 World Championship. It's also a statement. 

The last two editions of the world championship have been ruled by Filipino teams with Bren Esports taking the M2 title and Blacklist International winning the M3. The four teams set to slug it out in the upper bracket semifinals of the M4, meanwhile, are all led by a Filipino coach.

Harold Francis "Tictac" Reyes is calling the shots for Echo Philippines, which will go up against Denver "Yeb" Miranda's Onic Esports of Indonesia. In the other bracket, it will be Kristoffer "BON CHAN" Ricaplaza and the defending champion Blacklist International against Michael "Arcadia" Bocado's RRQ Hoshi of Indonesia as well.

Aside from these four, there are also three other Filipino coaches in the tournament. 

Cambodia's Burn X Flash is led by John Michael "Zico" Dizon while Egypt's Occupy Thrones and Falcon Esports of Myanmar are both boosted by Filipino tacticians in Ameniel "Mundo" Del Mundo and Steve "Dale" Vitug, respectively. 

There are also a number of Filipino imports playing for various teams in the tournament such as Kairi "Kairi" Rayosdelsol for Onic and Peter "Basic" Lozano for The Valley. 

And for Zico, it's only a matter of time before we see more Filipinos try their luck overseas. 

"Feel ko next season across the region, mas maraming import and 'yung sa Cambodia kasi may mga bagong players na rin," Zico said after his team got the boot on Monday with a loss to The Valley. 

"Across the region, mas dadagsa pa 'yung mga imports since nakita nila 'yung potential na kaya ng Pinoy coaches na magpalakas ng isang team."

("I feel like next season, there will be more imports across the region. In Cambodia, there are new players as well... Across the region, we will see more imports come over since teams have seen the potential of Pinoy coaches to make teams stronger.")

Having a Filipino coach, according to Zico, has been a huge boost to foreign teams, including his Burn X Flash, which also features another Filipino player in Jhonwin "Hesa" Vergara. 

It was already seen when the Cambodian team ruled the MPL Cambodia Autumn Split 2022 last October 2022, which formalized their entry to the M4 world stage and faced the best ML:BB teams across the world. 

"Siguro na-boost 'yung confidence nila since Pilipinas nga 'yung malakas and may kasama silang Pinoy so nakadagdag sa confidence nila 'yun maglaro," he said. 

"Masaya din ako kasi naging part din ako ng journey namin dito tsaka sana magtuloy-tuloy pa."

("I guess there has been a boost in confidence since the Philippines is a powerhouse and having a Pinoy on their side adds to their confidence when they play... I'm happy to have been part of our journey here and I hope it continues.")

—JMB, GMA Integrated News