After moving between different teams during the off-season, Stephen “Sensui” Castillo strongly believes that he has finally found his home in Blacklist International.
The 21-year-old jungler, who spent the past two seasons with ONIC PH, was asked by the team’s management to undergo tryouts following the team’s second consecutive first-round exit in the MPL Philippines Season 11 playoffs.
At that point, Sensui believed it was finally time for him to move on from the squad.
“Yung pagkaalis ko po sa ONIC ano, yung unang plano po kasi pagta-tryoutin po ulit ako, pero parang hindi na po ako nag-go mag-tryout,” Sensui told Tiebreaker Times after Blacklist International’s 2-1 win over Minana Esports.
“Di na po ako nag-commit sa tryout nila siguro po kasi tingin ko kailangan ko ng bagong environment para ano, mas mag-improve ako. Parang umalis lang din po ako sa comfort zone ko,” he added.
The former Monster Anarchy jungler then tried his luck with Omega Esports and even played for the Smart-backed squad in an off-season tournament. However, things did not go as planned, which forced Sensui to search for a team just weeks before the MPL Philippines Season 12.
“Parang ano po yun eh, goods naman po sa Omega. Parang ano lang, personal choice ko lang po na mag-Blacklist,” Sensui explained.
(c) MPL PH
But, as fate would have it, Sensui—who patterned his game after Blacklist International star jungler Danerie “Wise” Del Rosario—received a call from the three-time MPL Philippines champions after Wise, along with Johnmar “OhMyV33NUS” Villaluna, decided to skip the upcoming season to rest.
While he wouldn’t be able to share the stage with his idol, Sensui got the chance to learn under Wise, and that, for him, will play a major role in the personal growth he has been searching for.
“Syempre po ano, sobrang saya ko po nung nalaman ko na magkakaroon ako ng shot na mag-Blacklist. Kasi syempre po ano, champion-caliber team po, marami ng experiences sa championship saka international tournaments. Feel ko po mas marami ako matututunan saka maiimprove dito,” Sensui explained.
“Yung amateur pa lang po ako parang tinitingala ko na po yung Blacklist eh, saka ginagaya ko na rin po yung playstyle ni Wise po. Nung nasa amateur po ako nun halos kalaban ko po assassin ganun, tapos ako utility hanggang sa nadala ko sa pro,” he continued.
“Mahalaga po [si Wise] kasi tingin ko marami pa akong hindi nalalaman na alam ni Wise. Nanghihingi rin po ako ng mga tips sa kaniya.”
Now with his new squad, Sensui bared that he’s eager to show his new team his improvements and prove them wrong.
Sensui and Blacklist International are set to meet ONIC PH tomorrow, Saturday at 5:00 p.m.
“Marami pa po akong gustong patunayan especially sa dating team ko. Ayun nga po, ngayong wala na ako sa ONIC, gusto kong patunayan sa kanila na hindi pa yun yung peak ng performance ko. Mas marami pa akong kayang gawin.”
