After numerous heartbreaks in the past, Kenneth “SAXA” Fedelin finally reached his ultimate goal — to make the MPL.
And though it was not the debut that he wanted, the 20-year-old jungler was just grateful to finally realize his life-long dream.
“Sobrang saya ko ngayon kasi kinuha ako ng Bren Esports kasi tatlong beses na kami nag ka-qualifiers, tapos hindi kami nakakapasok,” said Saxa moments after Bren Esports’ 0-2 debut loss at the hands of Karl “KarlTzy” Nepomuceno — Saxa’s predecessor — and ECHO.
It was a long, painful road for Saxa, who first tried his luck in the MPL Philippines Season Five Open Qualifiers.
Playing for Ignite Esports back then, the pride of Caloocan City managed to get past the grueling Open Qualifiers to enter the Main Qualifiers. There, Ignite Esports — which also had Robee “Yasuwo” Pormocille, Jomarie “Escalera” Delos Santos, and Jefferson “Keke” Mogol — beat GOSU and then Nexplay Predator to earn the first grand finals slot in the group.
However, the team faltered in the finale, losing the MPL slot GOSU, which climbed its way from the lower bracket, via a 2-1 decision.
A season later, Saxa and the gang once again tried their luck. This time, under the ArkAngel banner in Season Six. The team once again made it deep into the Main Qualifiers but suffered the same fate anew with a 1-2 loss to Cignal Ultra in the finals.
Battered but still hopeful, ArkAngel still joined the following qualifier in Season Seven which turned out to be the last as the league migrated to a franchise-based system.
It was also the hardest one, with a total of 3,040 amateur teams throwing their names into the list. This number beat out the 1,024 record set in Season Six.
Just like in the first two, Saxa made it past the Open Qualifiers to the Main. This time, though, the eight qualified teams will compete in a double-elimination bracket — which gives losing teams a second chance to earn a slot. The top teams from both the upper and lower brackets will enter the main draw.
ArkAngel went on a roll in the Main Qualifiers, dispatching P4nda Gaming and Team SV to enter the upper bracket finals where they lost to Work Auster Force.
Still, ArkAngel had one last hope. Fate, however, was not on Saxa’s side as they lost to Playbook Esports, 1-2, in the lower bracket finals.
In all three qualifiers, Saxa and his squad were a win away from finally entering the big leagues.
His fortunes finally changed when Bren Esports — in the middle of its rebuild for Season Nine — called him up to take KarlTzy’s slot.
Now finally in the MPL, Saxa is looking to repay the trust of the team that helped him achieve his dream.
“Kasi ako sanay na ako sa mga amateur tournaments e, so iniisip ko na lang yung MPL parang amateur tournament lang din,” said Saxa.
“Iniisip ko na lang ano, ibibigay ko lagi yung best ko. Gagalingan ko pa sa mga susunod na laban.”
