After seeing the hard work that his Filipino crew put in throughout the year, Aura Esports CEO Christopher Djaja made sure to reward the group with an organization that they can call their own.
This gave birth to Echo — a standalone Filipino organization funded by Djaja and headed by former Aura PH country manager Mitch Liwanag.
“The CEO of Aura Indonesia, gusto niya yung Aura PH to have our owned established name in the country. Since lahat ng nagta-trabaho dito are Filipino, gusto niya talaga i-set namin siya as a Filipino brand. Kumbaga, lahat legally dito naka-register [sa Pilipinas],” shared Liwanag to Tiebreaker Times.
“Naa-appreciate niya ‘yung lahat ng pumasok sa Aura PH, na-deserve namin ng another entity na sa amin talaga at hindi nakahati sa Indonesia. ‘Yun talaga ang purpose nito. Our boss really appreciates hardworking Filipinos kaya niya ginawa ‘to.”
Liwanag previously handled Bren Esports and Sunsparks’ Mobile Legends squads before taking her act to Aura PH. She will be Echo’s general manager this time. Meanwhile, former MPL tactician Michael “Arcadia” Bocado will take on a managerial role and head the organization’s esports division.
On the other hand, former Aura PH strategic coach Steven “Dale” Vitug has been appointed as the new head coach of the organization’s MPL squad.
“There were a lot of adjustments, honestly. It was planned way back, but it only felt right to execute this season,” said the wife of retired two-time MPL champion Jaypee “Jaypee” Dela Cruz.
“Just like every company that undergoes rebranding, it wasn’t easy for us.
“There are a lot of things to change, and everything is a chain reaction. We still live by the same goals and family, and our motivation comes from the same fire that we had back in Aura. It’s just that we now aim to resound that same fire out to the entire PH. Hence the name Echo,” she added.
Echo just announced its official Mobile Legends roster last Wednesday, retaining former Aura PH core players Christian “Rafflesia” Fajura, Mark “Hadess” Lazaro, and Benedict “Bennyqt” Gonzales.
Joining the troika are veterans Jankurt “KurTzy” Matira and Jay “Jaymeister” Torculas; former MPL players Joshua “Aspect” Tating and Aaron “Aaronqt” Lim; and rookies Kenneth “FlySolo” Coloma, Rk3, and Invoker.
Liwanag also clarified that the team has no affiliation with the ECHO Esports team in Indonesia, which has teams on different titles such as League of Legends: Wild Rift, Free Fire, and PUBG Mobile.
But the organization is also planning to expand to different game titles later this year.
“ECHO is a standalone name. We are not related to Echo Esports in Indonesia,” shared Liwanag.
“We will expand soon din because we want to give more opportunities not just here in the Philippines, but also sa buong Southeast Asia.”
