Jaypee Nearly Quit. Now He’s Champion
“KASALANAN NI JAYPEE.” It became the rallying cry of bashers every time Team Liquid Philippines dropped a match—even when Jaypee played flawlessly.
That’s the thing about hate: once it takes root, reason gets replaced by bias.
Since MPL PH Season 12—incidentally, a near-perfect run for ECHO—critics have relentlessly targeted Jaypee. The venom spilled beyond the game, reaching his family, even his young daughter who is on the spectrum.
It was the same season ECHO, under Jaypee’s quiet leadership, dominated with an 11-series win streak. One of the strongest runs in MPL PH history.
But the noise never stopped.
Jaypee responded the only way he knew how: with dignified silence.
That doesn’t mean the words didn’t cut deep—especially when aimed at his wife, Mitch Liwanag, Team Liquid’s head of esports for Southeast Asia, and their daughter.
Many nights, Jaypee would cry quietly in their room, confiding in the only person he fully trusted.
“Gusto ko na mag-quit,” he would tell Mitch at night.
If only to make the hate stop. If only to shield the people he loved.
His only fault? Being chosen by his teammates to be part of the main five.
But he was persuaded to keep playing. No other player could fill his shoes, especially with their chemistry that’s been so tight. It’s not easy to replace a roamer, after all.
By Season 13, when the hate still hadn’t let up, the MPL PH casters did something brilliant.
They took the rallying cry of the bashers—and flipped it on its head.
Every time Team Liquid ECHO pulled off a masterful play, the casters would echo the phrase with a grin: “Kasalanan ni Jaypee!”
What once dripped with malice now rang with admiration. The insult had become a punchline. A cheer. A badge of respect.
One by one, the bashers fell silent—their favorite weapon now disarmed, their narrative dismantled.
That season, Liquid ECHO silenced everyone the best way they knew how: by winning the MPL PH championship.
Unfortunately, that same year, the team lost in their MSC run.
The bashers came back.
Jaypee stayed silent.
The team resets.
Two seasons later, they returned with renewed fire—this time under the sharp eye of Coach Arsy, a master tactician who brought a new dimension to their game.
Season 15 ended with Team Liquid Philippines standing tall once again—crowned MPL champions, with a ticket to the highly coveted Mid Season Cup 2025 at the Esports World Cup in Riyadh.
Sanford: “This is a statement for the bashers. They need to stop and start appreciating Jaypee.”
At MSC 2025 in Riyadh, Team Liquid Philippines lifted the trophy. And in doing so, they lifted Jaypee too.
“Noong magku-quit na siya, hindi ko alam kung bakit,” Sanji told ALL-STAR after the finals.
“Pero ngayon, sobrang laking tulong niya sa amin kasi ‘yung experience niya as a player… sa Mid Lane, nagugulangan namin lahat.”
(“When he was about to quit, I didn’t understand why. But now, he’s been such a huge help to us because of his experience as a player… in the mid lane, we’re able to outsmart everyone.”)
He didn’t say it directly, but the message was clear: Jaypee made them smarter. Sharper. Wiser. The game slowed down with him in it.
Sanford, the EXP Laner and Finals MVP of the MSC 2025, didn’t mince words either:
“Jaypee is really a high-IQ player, and for me, this is a statement for the bashers—that they need to stop and start appreciating him.”
But perhaps the most personal defense came from someone who is newest in the team, Oheb, Gold Laner of Team Liquid PH.
“Napakabait niyang tao inside and outside the game,” Oheb told ALL-STAR.
“Simula nang naging kakampi ko siya, wala akong masasabing negative thing na masasabi tungkol sa kanya… kasi sobrang buti niya talagang tao.”
(“He’s such a kind person, both inside and outside the game. Ever since he became my teammate, I haven’t had a single negative thing to say about him… because he’s genuinely a good person.”
There it was. No need for clapbacks, no need for drama. Just teammates who saw Jaypee for who he really was: a man who endured cruelty in silence, carried burdens no one saw, and kept showing up—not for clout, but for the team who believed in him.
In the end, it wasn’t the haters who defined Jaypee.
It was his team.
It was his win.
It was his MSC.
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