When Tristan “Yawi” Cabrera finally made his decision to leave Nexplay EVOS, a couple of teams lined up to acquire his services.
ECHO, though, was not even included in his initial list of destinations.
“Nung una po kasi inofferan nila ako pero yung lineup po hindi pa po ganito kaya nag pass po muna ako,” admitted Yawi in an exclusive interview with Tiebreaker Times.
However, when the opportunity to team up with Karl “KarlTzy” Nepomuceno and Frediemar “3MarTzy” Serafico was dangled by the organization, the 20-year-old did not hesitate to say yes.
“Nung medyo umaandar na po yung araw, tapos sabi maacquire na raw si Karl [Nepomuceno], si 3Mar [Serafico] hanggang sa ayun nag decide na ako lumipat ng ECHO,” revealed the social media star.
“Una po ‘di pa po ako decided kasi may iba pang teams pero nung nalaman ko po na ganito yung lineup ayun nag go na po ako,” he added.
Yawi has been on ECHO’s radar since after Season Six. Nexplay EVOS, however, was not keen on releasing the star tank yet at the time because it was only their first season in the league.
It was only after the conclusion of the 2021 ONE Esports MPL invitational last month that Yawi became available for a buyout.
According to the former Area 51 star, personal growth was one of the main reasons he left Setsuna “Akosi Dogie” Ignacio’s lair.
“Ako po kasi parang na-feel ko talaga na hindi na ako nag go-grow sa NXP kaya sa ‘pag lipat ko po mag go-grow po talaga ako,” said Yawi.
“Malaking bagay po ‘to sa growth ko kasi feeling ko po mag go-grow ako sa ECHO kasi po siyempre ‘pag nandun lang ako sa comfort ko wala akong nakikitang bago sa akin kaya feeling ko malaking bagay po sakin yung ‘pag alis ko sa comfort zone ko tapos matutulungan ko talaga yung sarili ko,” he added.
Now with ECHO, Yawi will focus more on professional play but will still spend time creating contents from time to time.
“Mas mag fo-focus po ako sa professional play pero kaya ko naman pong balansehin yung ‘pag co-content po saka yung stream,” said Yawi.
Dead-set on his goal, Yawi is looking to secure his first MPL Philippines title with his newfound family.
“Gustong gusto ko po talaga mag champion kaya ‘di naman ako nahirapan mag adjust po lalo na goods na goods po kasama yung ECHO.”
