After struggling for the past two weeks, Dean “Raizen” Sumagui finally came alive for Omega Esports on Friday night.
The 18-year-old pride of Silang, Cavite finally snapped out of his funk, finishing with four kills and five assists against one death on an ultra-aggressive Lancelot to lead the SMART-backed squad to an early 1-0 advantage in the series.
Raizen then had four kills, three deaths, and nine assists in the Game Two loss, before capping off the series with a 1-0-5 KDA line in the game-clinching Game Three win.
Indeed, his improved play was one of the many bright spots in Omega Esports’ first win in the tournament.
So, how did Raizen find his way back to his old, deadly form? According to Omega Esports head coach Jomie “P4kbet” Abalos, it took a lot of grilling from members of the team to help the young jungler get back to form.
“Ginisa namin siya e.
“Kinausap namin siya, araw araw namin siyang kinakausap saka tinuturuan — lahat kami,” revealed P4kbet moments after the match. “Ako, si Ch4knu, si E2MAX pati yung main coach namin dito sa Smart Omega si [Ynot] lagi naming kinakausap si Raizen, binibigyan namin siya ng confidence na laruin mo yung laro mo para wala kang problems.”
Raizen, who earned the jungler role as early as last season, was even replaced by Kielvj “Kielvj” Hernandez in the past week. Still, that did not change anything for Omega Esports as they dropped to 0-3 heading to the third week.
With their backs against the wall, the team once again turned to Raizen. And it’s safe to say that the up-and-coming core stepped up to the challenge.
“Kaya ayun, medyo maganda talaga yung pinakita niya ngayon.”
