Renejay “Renejay” Barcase, once a promising exp laner who gained social media fame with his incredible Chou highlight-reel plays, went through a prolonged slump in the MPL Philippines.
Just a year ago, Renejay was a part of the Nexplay Evos squad that finished with only two wins in Season 10.
With his main heroes falling out of favor in the ever-evolving MLBB meta and his friend Tristan “Yawi” Cabrera leaving NXPE after Season 8, Renejay was forced to transition into a roaming role.
Still, it wasn’t sufficient to revive his MPL career, which was already on the decline.
Although he finally reached his first grand finals when he joined Blacklist in Season 11, Renejay further lost his identity.
As the team’s substitute, he would either play in his signature exp lane role or serve as the team’s roamer, substituting for Edward “Edward” Dapadap and Jonmar “OhMyV33NUS” Villaluna.
However, with the popular V33Wise duo deciding to take a break in Season 12, Renejay finally found his golden opportunity.
And he didn’t let it slip away.
In the opening week of Season 12, he led the Tier One-backed squad to two consecutive sweeps, earning him the Week 1 MVP award.
As the team’s starting roamer, Renejay displayed maturity and growth throughout the season, even earning the “Healman” moniker after successfully transitioning into utility roaming heroes.
But he made sure that it wouldn’t end with only an outstanding regular season performance as he spearheaded Blacklist in Game 2 of the lower bracket finals, earning the game MVP in the victory that pushed his team to match point with a 2-0 series lead.
He finished with an impressive average of 0.5 kills and 11.3 assists against 2.3 deaths in their lower bracket finals conquest, which secured their spot at the M5 World Championship.
Renejay couldn’t help but express his gratitude to the entire Blacklist management, including the players and coaches, for reviving his MPL career.
“Wala ako dito sa grand finals kung di sa mga taong nasa paligid ko sa Blacklist, sa mga coach, sa mga players, sa lahat ng nagtitiwala sa akin. So ‘yun ang motivation ko. Para sa akin, sobrang satisfied ako this season. Sobrang proud ako sa naabot ng team,” he said.
Despite not claiming the title this time, Renejay remained undaunted.
“Sabi ko sa mga coach, kahit anong mangyari, walang regrets kasi lahat naman talaga ng pinractice namin, binuhos namin sa grand finals. Tapos ‘yung mga hindi namin pinractice na bigla naming nilabas, talagang tiwala na lang sa isa’t isa,” he said.
“Medyo masaya ako kasi nag-risk kami sa ganun. Hindi kami sumuko at pinusuan namin yung laban. Sadyang araw lang talaga ng AP.Bren. So babawi kami sa kanila sakaling magkatapat kami ulit sa M5.”
