Competition is in her blood, whether she’s holding a foil or playing behind a screen.
Maxine Esteban is not only an Olympian but she’s also got the skills to play with the best MLBB players in the world. It turns out that the Olympic level fencer is Mythic Glory rank in MLBB. That’s the highest achievable rank in the game and is the elite pool where all pro players come from.
What makes this achievement even more notable is that she reached it after only playing the game for a month. “I started playing so that I could bond with my sister,” said Maxine in an interview with the media during her visit at the opening week of MPL PH S14. Before she could only play during breaks in her training for the Olympics. Now that she’s had more free time, nothing was stopping her from flying up the ranks.
Playing videogames at an elite level is also not something that’s alien to Maxine. She was an avid Dota 2 player thanks to her dad. While the two games play rather differently from each other, they’re in the same genre so Maxine was able to apply her prior skills to MLBB. And yes, she was Immortal rank, the highest rank in Dota 2, as well.
“I’m very competitive and when I get into something I want to be the best at it,” said Maxine. She even admitted that she immediately wanted to be better than her sister and her dad even though they were the ones who introduced her to MLBB and Dota 2 respectively. Clearly that’s the kind of drive you need to be an Olympic level athlete.
An Appreciation for Esports Athletes
Even though she’s reached the top ranks in two different games, this is the first time Maxine has experienced esports. Last weekend was the first time she’s watched the MPL live and she was blown away by the experience. So much so that she jokingly admitted that she might consider becoming a pro player.
When asked about her thoughts about the Olympics finally recognizing esports, Maxine said that it was well deserved. “Just like any sport, it’s not really about the physical aspect of it,” she continued. “It’s more about the mental, the strategy, and esports players work really hard to get where they are so they really deserve to be in the Olympics.”
She agrees that esports is an avenue where Filipinos can excel in, similar to her own beliefs in fencing. “I say this all the time but there’s such a huge talent pool in the Filipino. That’s why I always try my best to do well and join all these competitions. To show everyone that Filipinos are very talented and to bring honor and glory to the country.”
On that note, Maxine is also open to the idea of joining an esports tournament. It would be wild to see Maxine Esteban’s name highlighted in an MLBB tournament but nothing’s impossible for this athlete.
Banner photo by Ramon Domingo.