A day after celebrating Father’s Day, Bren Esports tank Allan “Lusty” Castromayor’s two-week stay with his family in Isabela had to be cut short.
This, as the pride of Banga, South Cotabato had to report back to the Bren Esports headquarters for the team’s build-up for the upcoming Mobile Legends: Bang Bang Professional League-Philippines Season Eight.
“May mga tournament po kasi kami na lalaruan, need na namin mag training para makuha ulit yung title sa MPL Season Eight,” Lusty told Tiebreaker Times.
Heartbroken was the 26-year-old world champion as he had to leave behind his one-year-old daughter Allyana Colleen anew after months of being away from each other. And it was no doubt a tough decision for Lusty considering what they’ve been through as a family in the past year.
Lusty and his partner, Justine Dingle, who currently resides at Santiago, Isabela, had their firstborn on February 5, 2020, during the peak of government-imposed lockdowns due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Making matters worse, the two-time MPL Philippines champion was forced to leave his partner’s side as he had to travel back to Manila for the resumption of the postponed MPL Season Five.
“Nung nag start yung pandemic, three times pa lang ako nakakauwi kasi sunud-sunod yung tournaments,” said Lusty.
“Mahirap kasi hindi ko nakikita sa araw-araw yung anak ko saka yung partner ko. Kahit nasa isang bansa lang kami nahihirapan ako umuwi kasi maraming kelangan na papers bago maka-luwas ng probinsya,” he explained further.
The first few months were definitely the hardest for Lusty. It even came to a point where he would sneak away from practices for a couple of minutes just to call his partner and see his daughter.
“‘Pag namimiss ko yung mag ina ko, tumatawag ako kahit five minutes lang habang may practice sinisingit ko habang drafting kunyare pupunta lang ako ng CR pero tinatawagan ko sila,” he recalled.
But soon, Lusty’s time away from his family eventually bore fruit as he anchored one of the most dominant runs in the history of the Mobile Legends professional scene. BREN Esports, who only dropped a single series throughout the tournament, topped the MPL-Philippines Season Six to claim its first-ever title.
But as they say, winning has its price. And Lusty, who skipped BREN Esports’ The Nationals Season Two stint to spend time with his family, settled his debt once he made his way back to Isabela – almost a year removed from his first departure.
“Nung pagkauwi ko, nung nilapitan ko na yung anak ko ayaw niya lumapit sakin natatakot pero nung mga three days na kami magkasama nakilala na nya ako sobrang saya ko nung tinatawag nya akong dada,” shared Lusty.
“Pero ngayon okay na kasi kilala na ako ng anak ko.”
Now, Lusty will embark on another journey away from his loved ones. Only this time around, he finally has the peace of mind knowing that Allyana Colleen, who spent her early life without seeing his father, finally knows him by heart.
“Sinabi ko lang na magpakabait sumunod sya sa mama nya kasi matagal mawawala si Dada,” Lusty said.
“Yung nagmomotivate talaga sakin ay yung baby ko para sa future niya then yung passion ko sa games tsaka yung mga fans na nag nagmomotivate sakin na maglaro pa kasi kaya ko pa rin daw makipag sabayan sa mga bata.”
