Stephen “Sensui” Castillo sent a statement to ONIC PH after helping Blacklist International eliminate his former team in the MPL Philippines Season 12 playoffs on Wednesday night.
The former ONIC PH jungler said that he entered the series with extra motivation, revealing that he wanted to prove something to his former teammates and organization after being asked to try out following their back-to-back first-round exits a few months ago.
“Syempre po meron kasi yun nga po, tulad ng sinabi ko kanina, may gigil factor po sa’kin kasi may gusto akong patunayan sa kanila,” said Sensui, who played a pivotal role in the Tier One-backed squad’s 3-2 win over ONIC PH in the play-ins.
“Sobrang halaga nitong panalo kasi may gusto talaga akong patunayan sa mga dating teammates ko, saka gusto ko lang po i-break yung curse ko na laging laglag ng round one,” he added.
(C) MPL PH
That, however, does not mean that the 21-year-old ex-Monster Anarchy standout has an ax to grind with his former team. It’s just that he wanted to prove to them, as well as to himself, that he belongs in the league.
Sensui admitted that doubt started to fill his head after ONIC PH suffered a devastating loss to RSG PH in the first round of the Season 11 finals. That marked the second consecutive time that the team lost to the same team in the same round.
“Siguro may onting doubt po. ‘Di po kasi nawawala yun, sobrang dami ko rin kasing what-ifs nun eh. Yung kung ginawa ko ganito, kung mas nag-improve ako sa part na ‘to, ganun,” Sensui bared.
Sensui also recalled some of his what-ifs in that series, noting that his limited hero pool back then played a huge role in the team’s elimination from the playoffs.
All of that, however, is now in the past as Sensui, who left ONIC PH in search of growth, was able to find the evolution that he was searching for in Blacklist International.
(C) MPL PH
“Nung sa S11 po kasi namin open po yung Joy tapos parang sobrang ganda gamitin ng Joy jungle sa composition ng RSG. Eh hindi ko masyadong napa-practice sa scrim saka RG tapos tinanong ako ni coach Bluff kung confident ba ako, eh sinabi ko hindi,” he shared.
“Unang una yung hero pool tapos paghawak lalo ng objectives. Kahit na dati nung Season 11, kahit top 1 (ako sa) retri nun, nung napunta ako sa Blacklist parang ang dami ko pa palang hindi alam sa pagkuha ng objectives. Lalong lalo na sa decision making, sobrang nag-improve decision making ko nung napunta ako sa Blacklist,” Sensui continued.
“Para sa akin po, opo, kasi yun nga nung umalis ako sa comfort zone ko, yun talaga yung hinanap ko eh. Yung mga bago, yung mga makakapagpa-improve pa sakin.”
Now a step closer to reaching his ultimate goal of becoming an MPL PH champion, Sensui vowed to do whatever it takes to help the team that gave him a chance reclaim the MPL Philippines crown.
“Unang una po masaya po then excited po kasi yun nga, one step closer ako na makapunta sa finals saka mag-represent ng Pilipinas sa M5.”
