The past couple of seasons has been a bumpy roller coaster ride for Omega Esports midlaner Kiel VJ “Kielvj” Hernandez.
After conquering the MPL Philippines with Sunsparks via back-to-back wins in Seasons Four and Five, Kielvj got dropped from the Aura PH roster following an underwhelming performance in Season Six.
The King, who once ruled the local scene, found himself without a team. Eventually, he was picked up by Execration and had a career resurgence there – leading the team to a silver finish in Season Seven before taking charge in its title campaign in the 2021 MSC.
That proved to be Execration’s last hurrah in the Mobile Legends: Bang Bang scene as the team decided to fold before Season Eight, with its roster, led by Kielvj, heading to Omega Esports.
Still, despite the switch in banners, the King knew that he was still the team’s top dog. He knew the strides that he took and the level that he reached. Without a doubt, his newfound confidence brought him to a whole different level.
Unfortunately, he felt too comfortable. Kielvj played subpar throughout Season Eight which put the team’s playoff hopes in peril. This led to a last-minute switch that saw then rookie jungler Dean “Raizen” Sumagui take over the reins.
The same confidence that boosted him to the top eventually drove him out of his throne. And it did not help that the King had to deal with a couple of personal problems on the side.
He was still human, after all. A 17-year-old kid, to be exact.
“Dati nung main five ako, masyado akong kampante na hindi ako maalis. Parang ‘di ako masyadong tutok din kasi akala ko nga, kaya ko na rin lahat e,” Kielvj shared to Tiebreaker Times after Omega Esports’ 2-0 win against TNC in the MPL Philippines Season 10.
The MPL PH Season Five Finals MVP confirmed that the rumors back then were true. It was a dark time for the young Kielvj, who hesitated to bring up the cause of his downfall and opted to refer to it as: “Alam niyo na po yun.”
“Dati kasi nung main five ako kung ano-ano po yung ginagawa ko nun. Naglalaro ako ng ibang laro, may ibang distractions, kumbaga hindi lang ML. Ngayon kasi mas naliwanagan ako na dapat talaga mag-focus ka kung gusto mong mag-stay sa main five,” Kielvj shared, letting his guard down for a moment.
“Yung mga bagay lang na kapag kunwari na se-stress ako, naglalaro ako ng ibang laro tapos yung ibang distractions, alam niyo na po yun,” he added.
Nevertheless, despite it all, Kielvj was happy with what the team had achieved with him sitting on the bench. He even manned up, a rare sight for players at his age, and acknowledged that everything that happened was all his fault.
With Raizen taking the lead, Omega Esports found its way back to the grand finals in Season Nine where they lost to RSG PH in five games. The SMART-backed squad also made it into the top three of the MSC 2022 all while putting on a show throughout the tournament.
“Nung ‘di po ako naglalaro talagang malungkot po ako nun kasi ang tagal ko ring naiingit sa kanila,” said Kielvj.
“Pero masaya ako kasi ang layo rin ng narating namin kahit na ganun saka deserve ko rin na mapunta sa ganung situation kasi kasalanan ko rin e, nagpadistract ako sa mga ibang bagay,” he admitted.
He was happy. But he was, for sure, not content with how things played out for him. He knew that he could still perform at a high level. He wanted to redeem himself, and all he needed was a chance.
(C) MPL PH
“Ngayon na-realize ko rin na dapat may isa akong focus, hindi yung kung ano-anong focus ko. Naging lesson siya, kailangan ko lang talagang bumawi,” said the former No Limit star.
So, after the first half of the 2022 season ended, Kielvj immediately buckled down to work, even sliding down a few spots to fit himself in the team’s new dynamic.
From playing the jungler role, Kielvj transformed into an aggressive and reliable midlaner that gave the team another option in the support role aside from team captain Patrick “E2MAX” Caidic, who he credited for his successful transition.
“Si E2MAX po kasi sobrang sarap po kakampi niyan. Wala po kaming parang pataasan ng pride, talagang tulungan kami. Kung sino yung naglalaro tulungan lang. Ang dami kong natutunan sa kaniya and may mga natutunan din siya sa akin. Para sa akin best captain po talaga siya,” Kielvj said.
“Sa utakan na lang po. Kumbaga kung alam ko naman yung winning condition, aalamin ko na lang po yung mechanical sa ibang roles. Nung after na po ng Season Nine ako nag-start, parang ready na ako mag position four,” he added.
Kielvj made his debut in Omega Esports’ 0-2 loss to Blacklist International last August 13. And even though it resulted in a loss, the King still made a good account of himself as he led the team to huge leads in both matches before suffering come-from-behind losses against the Johnmar “OhMyV33NUS” Villaluna-led team.
A full week after, he spearheaded the team’s clean sweep of TNC which put them at a tie with ONIC PH at the second spot through identical 3-1 slates.
After finally getting a grasp of it all, Kielvj made sure to express his utmost gratitude to Omega Esports, from the management to the coaches and his teammates, for never doubting him and giving him enough time to lick his wounds.
With the red carpet and trumpets finally set for his royal return, it’s now all on the King to reclaim the throne that was once his.
(C) MPL PH
“Sobrang thankful po talaga kasi grabe yung binigay na tiwala nila sa akin. Kahit na yung laro ko dati na hindi siya totally solid, meron pa rin silang tiwala sakin na parang ‘sige kaya mo ‘yan.’ Doon ako namomotivate, dahil sa kanila kasi lahat sila may tiwala sa akin. Ayoko din sayangin yung chance na binigay sakin ng mga kakampi ko at ni coach,” Kielvj said.
“Siguro ano po, gusto kong ipakita na kaya kong maging consistent buong season. Yun yung goal ko at makuha namin yung MPL and world titles. Gusto ko lang manalo. Manalo nang manalo nang manalo.”
