Jaypee “Jaypee” Dela Cruz was a man on a mission in the SMART Mobile Legends: Bang Bang Professional League-Philippines (MPL-PH) Season Five, wreaking havoc all over the competition and helping Sunsparks claim its second-straight title last Sunday.
“Mas sobrang saya ngayon kasi nakuha namin ‘yung back-to-back champion na pinapangarap namin, kasi wala pang nakakagawa nung back-to-back champions simula nung Season One to Season Four,” Jaypee said.
Jaypee is now one of only four players in the history of MLBB Philippines to be crowned as two-time champions. But just like any other victory, the 21-year-old middle laner had sacrifice plenty before reaping the fruits of his hard work.
For starters, he missed his child’s birth as his wife, Mitch Liwanag, the manager of BREN Esports, gave birth to their daughter last May 28 — the day before the MPL-PH playoffs.
Jaypee used his little angel Cailee Jeanne as motivation to finish the season strong.
“’Yung paglabas ng baby ko talaga ‘yung motivation ko. Sobrang na-inspire ako dahil kay baby. Lalo akong ginaganahan mag laro para sa kanya,” said Jaypee.
“Thank you talaga sa asawa ko na si Mitch, kasi sobrang supportive niya sa ‘kin. Saka gusto ko ring mag-sorry kasi malayo ako nung nanganak siya, wala ako sa tabi niya. Pero alam ko naming sinusuportahan niya ako at ganun din ako sa kanya.”
During the finals, ONIC PH targeted Jaypee during the draft phase, banning Jaypee’s main hero Ling every time they got the chance. With most of his comfort heroes unavailable, Jaypee once again made the ultimate sacrifice, surrendering his hyper carry role to teammate Kielvj.
“Ang nangyari kasi, bina-ban nila ako ng core heroes like Ling, so nauubos ‘yung hyper carry sa mid lane. Tapos ang ginawa namin, napa-practice naman kasi namin na ako ‘yung nag o-off lane or side lane,” explained Jaypee.
“Saka malaki talaga tiwala namin kahit si Kielvj ‘yung mag-mid lane, lalo na ‘yung Kimmy niya ‘yung ginamit niya,” he added, as Kielvj used Kimmy in three games during the finals series.
And Jaypee’s sacrifice eventually paid off, as Kielvj delivered the goods for Sunsparks, taking home Finals Most Valuable Player honors with averages of 4.3 kills, 4.3 assists, and just 2.0 deaths.
Now that the grind is over, Jaypee and the rest of Sunsparks can finally take some time off and spend time with his family.
