There have been a lot of challengers to the throne for the defending MPL PH champions but coach Tictac sees it as a chance for the team to grow.
It’s been quite the season so far for Team Liquid PH and coach Harold “Tictac” Reyes as the race between the top four teams in MPL PH S14 has been tight. Liquid PH themselves are in a precarious situation as they’re tied for fourth with Omega Esports. One wrong move and the defending champions could find themselves lagging behind.
This comes from the fact that it’s no longer a two-horse race between Liquid PH and Falcons AP.Bren.
Fnatic ONIC PH and Aurora Gaming have proven to be legitimate powerhouses, with Fnatic ONIC in particular looking unstoppable with their seven-match win streak. When asked what he thinks makes these two teams strong contenders, coach Tictac attributes it to a number of factors.
“Siguro it’s yung chemistry nila kase sobrang in-sync sila. Tapos yung read nila sa meta kasi madami sila nailalabas; mas-una talaga sila sa meta. Tapos of course yung hard work nila.”
Of course, as former world champions, Liquid PH are no slouches in these departments either. But the standings show that Liquid PH still has a lot to improve on this season and that’s the mindset that coach Tictac has adopted for the team.
“Sa mga talo namin, we take it as motivation. Kumbaga kung talo kami ngayon, uusapan namin talaga yung game, ano kailangan namin i-adjust. So kada talo namin, lagi namin ginagawang lesson. May natututo kami at baka may option na mabuksan.”
Keeping Everyone on Their Toes
One of those options was the team’s recent fielding of Justine “Zaida” Palma for their last game of the first half of the season. It was quite a surprise considering he was replacing Karl “KarlTzy” Nepomuceno in the Jungler position.
Many consider KarlTzy as one of the best Junglers in the league but Zaida’s successful debut has created new paths. While KarlTzy plays more for his team, Zaida has an aggressiveness to his play that catches people off guard. When asked why Liquid PH decided to bring in Zaida now, coach Tictac gave a sly but confident reply.
“Para maging unpredictable kami. Nasa amin yung best Jungler [ng MPL PH]. Ngayon meron na kaming isa pang best Jungler.”
Banner photo from MOONTON Games.