Esports Saved Nosia. Now He’s Setting the MPL on Fire
Mico “Nosia” Capil’s story begins with a fractured childhood. “Anim ang mga kapatid ko eh. Ako ang bunso,” he says. Parents, however, were not the ones who raised him.
“Broken family kami. Ang nag-alaga talaga sa akin, yung kuya kong panganay at saka yung asawa niya. Siguro mga 7 years old pa lang ako, siya na ang nag-aalaga sa akin, yung kuya kong panganay, si Kuya Mark,” Nosia recalled.
His mother worked in Baguio but could not sustain her children. His father had another family. The person who became mother, father, and guardian was Kuya Mark.
But the absence left scars. “Hindi ako nakapagtapos ng pag-aaral, gawa ng sobrang lungkot ng buhay ko noong bata ako. Hindi ko naranasan maalagaan ng magulang na kumpleto, tapos hiwa-hiwalay kaming magkakapatid.”
School ended early. “Kaya ang ginawa ko dahil hindi ako nakapag-aral, sabi ko sa sarili ko, kung walang magpapaaral sa akin, babawi na lang ako sa sarili ko, gaya nito.”
“Gaya nito” means esports.
Leaving Home
At 15, he left home with no promise of return. No diploma, no backup plan. Just one idea: “Kapag umalis ako rito, baka magbago ang buhay ko. Ako na ang bahala sa sarili ko.”
“Balak ko talagang mag-aral pero gawa nga ng kulang ako sa guidance, mas pinili ko ang esports career kahit walang kasiguraduhan,” he says.
He joined his first boot camp even before turning 15, motivated not just by gaming but by escape. “Kasi hindi na ako nag-aaral at parang wala ako, sobrang liit ng tingin ko sa sarili ko. Nag take ako ng risk.”
Leaving meant never looking back. “Kaya pag-alis ko noong 15 years old ako, tuloy-tuloy na iyon, hindi na ako umuwi sa bahay.”
Esports Was Nosia’s Escape and Only Plan
That leap of faith led him to GamerPact Esports, and later Minerva.
“Ang una kong naging team, GamerPact Esports, formerly Goodfellas. Inalagaan ako doon nang 3 years… Noong nag Minerva na ako, doon ako nagsanay hanggang maging 18 ako,” he told ALL-STAR.
But he felt stuck. “Noong nag 18 na ako, feeling ko kasi hindi na ako mag-go-grow, dahil paulit-ulit na lang. Gusto ko mag-try maging pro player. Feeling ko naman ready na ako, kaya nag tryout ako sa ONIC Nine Lives.”
He was ready, but the journey tested him. “Sobrang thankful ko sa sarili ko dahil hindi ako tumigil kahit na ang daming nangyari noon, na puro talo-talo sa amateur. May time na gusto kong umuwi sa bahay, pero inisip ko, paano kung umuwi ako sa bahay, wala rin naman akong gagawin? Wala akong mapapala gawa nang hindi ako nakapag-aral, wala akong Plan B.”
Plan A was all he had.
“So ang motivation ko ay ituloy na lang talaga ang esports kasi ang Plan A ay iyon lang talaga, Plan A lang, mag pro player at galingan.”
And Plan A worked.
After a stint with ONIC Nine Lives, Nosia and his teammates became MDL champions. Opportunities began to come. He realized there was no turning back.
Finding MP the King
After their MDL triumph, uncertainty set in. “After namin mag MDL champion, nag-uwian na kami mula sa boot camp. Wala kaming practice nang one month, may sari-sarwili na kaming tryouts sa international at local orgs, tapos nag post ang SIBOL. So nag try kami.”
Despite no coach, no scrims, and no structured preparation, they beat Aurora during the SIBOL tryouts. That was when doors began to open—some teammates left for foreign teams. Nosia stayed.
And then came the chance to play with veteran MP the King in Twisted Minds.
“Chinat ni Lansu si MP the King. Sabi ni Lansu kay MP, ‘Gusto mo ba kami i-try diyan? Tutal, ikaw core, apat kami, may chemistry na.’ Tinryout kami ni Coach Bon for two days, malaki daw talaga ang potential, kaya ayun. Hindi na kami nag tryout sa iba.”
Nosia does not hide his gratitude. “Kay MP, sobrang thankful ko kasi binigyan niya kami ng chance kahit na rookies pa lang kami, hindi naman niya kami nakakalaro pero tinry niya lang.”
“Sinasabi niya, ‘Sa MPL, hindi nila gagawin yung ganito kaya wag kayo mag-alala, sa scrims lang matapang iyan,’ mga ganoon,” Nosia says. More than a mentor, MP was also a friend. “Outside rin, sobrang kulit niya. Hindi kami nalalayo sa isa’t isa. Siguro yun din ang nagiging power namin kasi may friendship din kaming magkakapatid.”
Facing Idols as Rivals
Now Nosia stands on MPL’s main stage, no longer an amateur, no longer a boy running from home. He is here, staring across the map at the very players who once inspired him.
“Sakin, idol to rivals kasi yung naging mindset ko,” he says. “Noong una kasi, idol ko sina Super Marco at Kelra. Ngayon na rivals na kami, syempre, wala nang mga idol-idol, bawal na akong ma-awrahan.”
But the admiration remains, if only reframed. “Balang-araw kasi, magiging tropa ko rin sila kasi gusto ko silang maging tropa mula noong nasa amateur pa lang ako. Sila din ang naging motivation ko na makapag-MPL, silang dalawa ang naging role models ko.”
As of this writing, Twisted Minds has become the unexpected top team in the MPL Philippines. And although half of them are rookies, they’re playing like veterans and toppling giants one by one.
From the day he vowed, ‘Ako na bahala sa sarili ko,’ Nosia has carried himself forward. Today, he no longer carries it alone—he has brothers, a family, and a fire big enough for his MPL dream.
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