Making it to the playoffs is still an impressive feat for these young rookies.
Despite their early playoff exit, Twisted Minds’ MP the King is still proud of how far his rookie teammates have gone. Taking TNC to five games is impressive and they’re still the most successful MDL promoted team the league has seen.
As the only returning member of the team, Michael “MP the King” Endino was a bit of an older brother to the team. He started the season with tempered expectations, seeing how young the team was.
“Yung nabuo kami yung mindset ko is kahit anong mangyari, maka-abot sa playoffs o hindi, ok lang sa akin,” said Twisted Minds MP the King. “Feeling ko talaga malaking factor yung experience. Tapaos kinakapaan pa nila yung stage, yung MPL mismo. Kasi ibang-iba yung pakiramdam sa MPL compared sa MDL. Regardless sa anong mangyari, basta makita ko linalaro yung gusto nila, masasabi ko na naging successful kami.”
A very mature take, especially when handling a team full of rookies. And letting them play their game seemed to be the right move as they shocked the league during the first half of the season. They did have quite the dip in the second half but they were still able to recover in the end,
“Nung kaligitnaan na ng season, doon umapekto yung mindset,” said Twisted Minds’ MP the King. “Umiba yung mindset namin kaya naapekto yung gameplay namin. Kasi nung una wala kami talagang iniisip – laro-laro lang, wala kami pake. Noong midseason na, nung nabasa na kami ng kalaban, nung nagkaroon kami ng maraming talo, doon kami nago-overthink ng mga gagawin.”
Chemistry to Overcome the Odds
During the offseason, it was MP the King who suggested to pick up the then-MDL champions ONIC x Nine Lives. While them being MDL champions was a factor, the thing he was looking for the most was chemistry.
“Gusto ko lang magkaroon ako ng team na completo na, may chemistry na,” said Twisted Minds’ MP the King. “Kasi yung naging problema sa mga past teams ko is parang bunot-bunot kami. Ang hirap mag-build ng chemistry. Nakita ko na may chemistry na yung team at nagreflect naman sa MPL.”
Banner photo from MOONTON Games.