It was a long road from the MDL, but Ferdz has finally made it to the big stage.
It was a big moment for Team Falcons’ Ferdz last weekend as he was finally making his debut on the MPL stage, and mostly by surprise. Edferdz “Ferdz” Fernandez found out about his start about a day before the opening of the MPL, but he was no less fired up to take on some of the Philippines’ best MLBB players.
“Ine-expect ko to,” said Team Falcons’ Ferdz. “Hindi naman ako maglalaro ng MDL para hanggang dun lang ako. Syempre may ine-aim pa tayo na mas-mataas pa.”
Prior to joining Team Falcons, the young EXP Laner was part of the RRQ Kaito squad that pulled off the very first perfect season in MDL PH S3. That team was then brought to the 2024 IESF World Esports Championship, where they won second place. After dropping to the Aurora Hunters in the semifinals of MDL PH S5, Ferdz is finally taking his shot at the MPL with the Falcons.
“Testing the waters talaga yung first game,” said Team Falcons’ Ferdz. His opening game against Aurora Gaming wasn’t pretty. A lot of uncharacteristic errors and sloppy movement, which is surprising considering that he’s already played on an international level. But that just goes to show how powerful the pressure is in the MPL.
“Pero sa second game, doon ko nalaman na mas-ok talaga sundan mo yung team mo. Sa first game medyo magulo pa talaga ako. Wala pa sa isip ko ano yung trabaho ko, ano kailangan gawin ko. So sa second game sinabi ko sa kanila na babawi ako.”
Ferdz’s succeeding games looked a lot cleaner as he got more used to the MPL stage. All in all, ending week one with a 1-1 record isn’t bad for the Falcons, considering that they were playing with a new teammate.
Facing Your Enemy
The usual difficulty that players coming from the MDL and amateur scene face is getting over the pressure of live stage games. Some may already have live crowd experience, but it’s different when it comes to playing in the MPL.
Luckily, Ferdz has the rest of Team Falcons behind his back. He has the help of established veterans like Angelo “Pheww” Arcangel and David “FlapTzy” Canon. He knows he can lean on them for help and that they’re more than willing to give it.
“Big factor talaga sila kasi may mga mababato silang advice na naranasan na nila na nararanasan ko ngayon.”
But Ferdz can’t entirely rely on the team for this. At the end of the day, he knows there’s only one person that he can account for in-game.
“Ang team ay ang second mag-gagabay sayo pero ang main ay sarili mo talaga,” said Team Falcons’ Ferdz. “Kailangan mo maging confident sa sarili mo kasi ang kalaban mo is sarili mo talaga.”
Banner photo from MPL Philippines.