 |
| Michael "MP The King" Endino passed up on foreign offers, including one from his former team See You Soon, to show that he can be among the best junglers in MPL Philippines. MPL Philippines (file photo) |
MANILA--When Blacklist International announced its departure from MPL Philippines on Jan. 21, rumors that Michael "MP The King" Endino could find himself back with Cambodian MLBB giant See You Soon fueled further.
A week before the announcement, Endino shared a post from SYS team manager Sam "Paragon" Sophanny showing the crown and padlock emojis, and fans began to speculate that the emojis pertained to MP The King locking himself in to rejoin the club.
However, just as February ushered in, SYS announced that it has signed up Dean "Raizen" Sumagui and Rasec "Nomed" Sugarno as its Filipino imports.
Then earlier this week, Twisted Minds revealed that it has absorbed the core of Blacklist for its MPL PH debut, which included Endino.
When asked by Dugout Philippines what prompted him to stay in the Philippines, he said, "Parang gusto kong i-redeem yung sarili ko kasi hindi talaga ako masyadong satisfied sa laruan ko last season (I feel like I want to redeem myself because I'm not really satisfied with my performance last season)."
Blacklist finished fourth in MPL PH Season 14 late last year, bowing to Aurora in the lower bracket semifinals.
What inspired him further to stay was a talk with former Blacklist head coach Bon "Bon Chan" Ricaplaza, who will still be his mentor at Twisted Minds PH.
"Tulad ng sinabi ni coach Bon, may ibubuga pa kami, kaya hangga't hindi ko pa nailalabas yun, gusto kong patunayan sa mga tao na kaya ko pang sumabay sa MPL PH (Like what coach Bon said, we still have a lot in store, so until I haven't unleash them, I want to prove to the people that I can still compete here in MPL PH)," Endino further said.
He confirmed, though, that SYS did reach out to him for a possible return, and he too revealed that he gained some interest from four other foreign teams.
"Mas pinili ko talaga yung Philippines kasi yung group dito, iba talaga kung iko-compare mo sa ibang bansa, kaya yun talaga yung habol ko (I chose the Philippines because the group here is a different level compared to other countries, so that's what I'm really chasing)," Endino added a reason to stay put.
He hopes that Twisted Minds PH would have a great run in its MPL PH debut, but for him, seeing him improve further as a player in Season 15 would be satisfying enough for him already.
Twisted Minds PH begins its MPL PH conquest right at the start of the brand new season against Aurora at 5 p.m. on Feb. 28 at the Green Sun Hotel Ballroom in Makati.
Follow him on X: @IvanSaldajeno
.jpg)
