Prior to the season, Nexplay EVOS head coach John “Zico_” Dizon has already expressed his intention to utilize his 10-man lineup in the MPL Philippines Season Nine.
And he did.
After fielding eight of his players in the opening week of MPL Philippines Season Nine, Zico inserted Renejay “RENEJAY” Barcarse and Emanuel “Elpizo” Candelaria to the starting five against Blacklist International to make it ten for Nexplay EVOS.
Definitely, the two did not disappoint, delivering in their Season Nine debut against Blacklist International, to hand Nexplay EVOS its second win in the tourney via a tight 2-1 encounter.
Elpizo took on the role of Jeniel “Haze” Bata-anon in the middle lane while RENEJAY, in a surprising turn of events, played as the roamer in lieu of Kenneth “CADENZA” Castro.
RENEJAY took the spotlight after successive Franco performances in Games One and Two. He then played clutch in the decider, securing the game-winning play on Edith through a Flicker-Earth Shatter combo that caught out three Blacklist International members.
“Nasa plano ko na po talaga yun, bale ang ginagawa ko po sa kanila dinidipende ko po sa mga kalaban namin yung mga paglalaruin ko po na players since lahat naman po sila malakas,” said Zico.
“Pantay pantay po yung tingin ko sa kanila, wala pong tinitignan na hindi puwedeng maglaro.“
So far, so good as Nexplay EVOS is currently at the fourth spot with a 2-1 standing and five points — a point away from top-ranked squads TNC, ECHO, and RSG PH, who are currently in a three-way tie.
Nexplay EVOS will take on Bren Esports next on Sunday at 6:00 PM.
