‘MALAS BA AKO?’ Yue Asked Himself After 6 Grand Finals Losses
“MALAS BA AKO?” Kenneth Carl Tadeo, better known as Yue, once found himself questioning his place in MPL Philippines.
He had lived through a cruel pattern of almosts: MPL PH Season 11, MSC 2023, MPL PH Season 12, M5 World Championship, MPL PH Season 14, and MPL PH Season 16. Six grand finals appearances that promised glory, then ended in heartbreak.
It felt like fate was dangling a carrot inches from his mouth, only to yank it away just as he was ready to take a bite.
“Nasa akin ba yung salam?” Yue recalled asking himself.
Yue started as a rookie in Blacklist International in Season 11. Ever since then, his teams had never won anything. He had become a running joke, even among his teammates.
“Yue, ikaw talaga yung malas!”
His coaches and teammates would jest.
“Ilang grand finals na yung pinagdaanan ko at palagi kaming kinukulang,” Yue told ALL-STAR.
We once asked KarlTzy what each of his trophies meant to him. This time, we asked Yue what each of his losses meant to him.
“Noong Season 11. Rookie ako noon sa Blacklist. Tapos yung MSC 2023. Doon ko na-feel na, ganito pala yung lungkot na magkasunod na grand finals appearance tapos parehong talo,” said Yue.
“Tapos yung Season 12, literal na heartbreaking siya kasi hindi ko naibigay yung best ko that time, parang wala ako sa huwisyo maglaro.”
“Yung Season 14, sayang! Kasi iyon yung kalaban namin ang ONIC, napaabot namin sa Game 7 ang grand finals. Konting segundo o minuto na lang tapos nag choke kami.”
He never forgot the near misses of MSC and M5, and considers S14 and S16 to be his most heartbreaking runs.
But when Aurora Gaming PH won the M7 World Championship, Yue tasted victory for the first time, and it took him a while to believe it was real.
Yue slept at 8 a.m. after winning.
Somehow, Yue’s M7 win felt more satisfying than all the championships the GOAT has won because he’s never felt what it was like to win.
On the night of Aurora Gaming’s M7 victory, Yue could not find sleep.
“Hindi pa siya nagsink in nang buong buo, hindi ako nakatulog hanggang alas otso ng umaga, dinadamdam ko talaga!”
Championships, it turns out, do not arrive with fireworks for people like Yue. They arrive disorientingly, like a truth you don’t quite trust yet.
The feeling refused to leave his body.
“Hindi ko siya maalis sa feeling! Sobrang sarap sa pakiramdam!”
“Sobrang iba ang feeling kapag nag champion ka. Tatagal siya sa isip mo. Champion ako!”
There was an almost childlike innocence to the way he claimed it, as if saying the words out loud was the only way to make them real.
“Hindi ko siya maalis sa feeling! Sobrang sarap sa pakiramdam!”
As we listened to Yue’s disbelief, it was like hearing the voice of someone checking the receipt, making sure the miracle was paid for.
It was his first time to win anything.
If the losses taught him patience, the win taught him gratitude. The first thing he wants to do isn’t splurge, flex, or disappear.
“Magpapatayo ako ng bahay,” Yue said.
“Para iyon ang gagawin kong pang balik sa pamilya ko kasi palagi silang nakasuporta sa akin… One hundred percent support sila sa akin.”
“Alam kong darating rin yung time na magcha-champion ako,” Yue said, explaining the reason why he stayed.
He waited. He lost. He waited again. And then, finally, the world stage gave way.
“Wag kang susuko hanggat may passion,” Yue said. “Darating din ang time para sa iyo… Trust the process.”
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