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EVOS SG looking to the future after back-to-back MPL SG titles

EVOS SG winning the MPL S2 title (Photo: Moonton)
EVOS SG winning the MPL S2 title (Photo: Moonton)

It may be the last MPL SG trophy for EVOS SG captain Andrew "Potato" Lim, but he is already planning for the future. As a back-to-back champion for MPL SG, Potato is intent on leaving his knowledge to the next generation.

To do that, he and Akihiro "JPL" Furusawa have been training up a squad of new players to replace members of their season one squad who have either retired or left to serve National Service.

That hasn't stopped EVOS SG from winning the second season, beating their local rivals RSG yet again, this time 4-1 in the Grand Final.

"JPL and I have the same mindset, being the seniors of the team. As seniors, we have to guide them throughout. Although it's exhausting, we do scold and lecture them. Ultimately, if they absorb what we said without keeping the scoldings to heart, they will grow very fast," Potato told Yahoo Esports SEA.

"Our synergy is probably better than in season one, in terms of aggressiveness. We've passed on our experience to our younger players, and the way they put the skills they learnt in an aggressive way is much better than us older players, who won't be as forward," he added.

Potato, who picked up MLBB during his time serving National Service, has played on many teams in the last five years — including in Indonesia (which has a franchised MLBB league) — before joining EVOS SG. He used to be called Sunny Potato, having earned that nickname when a friend teased him after editing a picture of him. Since the name was too long to be used normally, everyone started using Potato instead.

Having been competing for a while now, Potato plans to retire after this season, citing tiredness as one of the reasons for this choice. He also said he planned to continue his full-time streaming career on Facebook after he retires from professional esports.

However, before retirement, he wants to have one (or rather, two) last hurrah at the upcoming ONE Esports MLI and the M3 MLBB World Championships.

To do that, Potato said he had to be strict with the newbies, often scolding them when they make mistakes.

"This whole season has been a bit tougher, because we needed to point out the mistakes, keep pointing out the things the younger players need to learn. It's quite different from our first season with veterans, where everyone knew what they needed to do during our reviews."

Not always a "scolding"

However, Basil "Seilah" Lim Dao Ze, mage player for EVOS SG, felt the approached worked for him.

"Sometimes when I mess up, they won't scold me, but explain slowly to me what I should do, and I appreciate that a lot," said Seilah.

Having just just turned pro after being scouted by Potato, Seilah understood that the veterans meant well when they were whipping them into shape.

"I have this issue of playing very safe, and every time I do it, JPL or Potato will point it out, but now, I can hear them telling me at the back of my head telling me to not be so passive."

The 22-year-old started playing MLBB two years ago, and had previously played League of Legends.

While he didn't consider going pro with LoL because the games just took too long to play compared with MLBB — it was "very tiring" — he jumped at the chance when Potato scouted him and eagerly joined.

"I recall Seilah to be very annoying, especially in the ranked pubs I was playing against him," said Potato. "He was always targeting me, and I had a very big impression of him because of this. That's when I felt that not many supports would do that, and I recommended him to the team because of that."

Seilah recalled it differently, saying he was friends with Potato and had been playing with other ranked players before he got scouted. It was an easy yes when Potato, who was the first to ask, invited him to the squad.

"At first the pressure was very high, I was worried about whether I could keep up. However, I was very proud I could get into EVOS, and I wanted to give my 100 per cent," said Seilah.

While he is now a pro player, he is still working on improving his basics, which Seilah feels he is still lacking in.

Despite that, the team was good enough to get him his first title as MPL SG S2 champion, though Seilah admitted that it did not feel that easy. However, the support of the veterans in the squad, as well as the team's high morale, were crucial to their victory, he said.

For now, Seilah intends to focus on his gaming career, though he might stop once he turns 26. Then, he will probably go back to help out in the food and beverage business his family runs.

Seilah, who got his handle from the anime Fairy Tale, added that his family was very supportive of his current career and had given him their blessing to "go do what he liked".

In the meantime, EVOS SG are focused on doing their best to get ready for the upcoming Mobile Legends Invitational, as well as the M3 World Championship, which will see them pitted against the best teams in the region, including some of their other EVOS brethren.

"Everyone knows that Singapore is not a strong region compared to other countries, their players put in a lot of time, so I want to at least be equal and not get one-sided," said Seilah.

Aloysius Low is an ex-CNET editor with more than 15 years of experience. He's really into cats and is currently reviewing products at canbuyornot.com

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