Raizen to His Younger Self: ‘Sorry. Kasi Natagalan’ 

In Silang, Cavite, the future once looked simple for Dean Christian Sumagui, better known as Raizen.

Like many young boys growing up in a household where practicality mattered, he imagined a life at sea. Some of his cousins had become seamen, and that seemed like a respectable path—steady work, honest pay, a way to support family.

“Gusto ko po mag seaman noon. Kasi mga pinsan ko nag seaman din, parang gusto ko gayahin.”

Life has a strange way of redirecting people through the smallest doors. For Raizen, that door was a mobile game.

Before he became a professional player in Mobile Legends: Bang Bang, his life followed the ordinary rhythm of a teenager.

“Estudyante, nag-aaral po.”

He was the eldest of three boys in a modest household.

“Tatlong lalaki po kaming magkakapatid, panganay po ako. Yung mom ko po, nasa bahay lang po pero may tindahan po kami. Yung daddy ko po, siya po yung nagtatrabaho sa Toyota.”

School days were predictable. Classes during the day. Mobile Legends with friends whenever there was time.

“Papasok lang po tapos kapag bakasyon, naglalaro po ng MLBB kasama mga tropa. RG, grind.”

We asked him what kind of student he was back then, and he grins. 

“Sakto lang! Medyo matalino din! Pasaway din!”

A smart troublemaker.

Math was his favorite subject, though it would take years before he realized that esports had its own kind of arithmetic measured in wins and losses, and also in time.

The First Time the Game Paid Him Back

Raizen discovered Mobile Legends at sixteen.

“Mga 16 years old po ako noon, ipinakilala sa akin ng pinsan ko yung laro. Season 2 ng MLBB ako nagsimula. Nagustuhan ko, at palagi ko na siyang nilalaro.”

At first, it was just another pastime. Rank games with friends. Late-night grinds. The usual teenage obsession.

But his friends began noticing that he was different. More talented. 

“Minsan inaaya nila ako ng pustahan, inaaya ako sumali sa Smart Play. Sumali ako tapos nag champion.”

The tournament was a small barangay event, the kind where players crowd around borrowed tables and neighbors gather to watch.

Raizen traveled only three barangays away from home to join. He arrived with just enough money for transportation.

When he went home that night, he carried something new.

“Sobrang saya ko noon kasi yung dala ko lang na pera noon, pamasahe ko lang. Pag-uwi ko, may dala na ako sa bahay. Pinangbili ko ng pagkain tapos itinago ko lang yung iba.”

For the first time, a mobile game had given him something tangible.

And that changed everything.

The Flight to Davao That Changed Everything

Not long after, an amateur team called Reach Apex offered him a chance to join their bootcamp in Davao.

There was just one problem.

Raizen was 16 years old. Still in senior high school. Living in Cavite. And the world was in the middle of a pandemic.

His parents hesitated.

Understandably.

But Raizen had already been watching the MPL and imagining himself on that stage.

“Nanonood na rin po ako ng MPL noon. Nakikita ko na ang saya maglaro sa ganoon. Sobrang passion ko po talaga yung MLBB, kaya gusto kong subukan.”

So he begged.

“Umiyak po ako noon, iniyakan ko sila, tapos pumayag sila. Sabi ko may sahod. Ayun, pumayag po.”

Reach Apex paid for the plane ticket.

The salary waiting for him in Davao was modest.

“P8,000 po a month.”

But for a teenager chasing a dream, that was enough to leave home.

Watching KarlTzy From Afar

Like many aspiring pros, Raizen had his idols.

One of them was KarlTzy.

“Si KarlTzy po talaga.”

Before Raizen ever stepped onto an MPL stage, he watched KarlTzy play from home, studying the movements, imagining the possibility that he might someday reach that level.

Years later, when that moment arrived, the feeling was surreal.

“Sobrang saya po kasi dati, nangangarap lang talaga ako tapos…”

He pauses for a moment, as if replaying the memory.

“Dati kasi nalalakasan ako kay KarlTzy tapos nandoon na siya, at sa tingin ko, yung laro ko dati, kaya talagang sumabay sa kanila.”

By Season 8 of MPL Philippines, Raizen was already part of Smart Omega.

And surprisingly, the nerves never overwhelmed him.

“Noong Season 8, hindi ako kinabahan masyado. Pinapanood ko lang po si Karl sa bahay noon, at naisip kong kaya ko siyang sabayan.”

‘Time is gold. Nag Start ako 17, tapos 22 na ako ngayon. Wala pa rin akong championship.’

Esports careers move quickly.

In just a few years, Raizen would play for multiple teams: Smart Omega, ONIC, TNC, Team Falcons MENA, See You Soon Cambodia—before eventually returning to Omega again.

Each roster change meant starting over.

New teammates. New dynamics. New expectations.

But the years were moving too.

He started his professional journey at seventeen.

Today, he is twenty-two.

And the number that stays with him is not the number of teams he has played for, but the number of championships he has yet to win.

“Time is gold. Nag start ako 17 tapos 22 na ako ngayon. Wala pa rin akong championship.”

He says it plainly, without bitterness.

Just the awareness that time moves faster in esports than in many careers.

“Nasasayang talaga yung oras kapag hindi mo ginagawa yung best mo. Ginagawa ko naman yung best ko pero dapat dagdagan pa.”

What He Would Say to His Younger Self

At one point in the conversation, he was asked a question that seemed simple.

If he could speak to his younger self—the boy who first started playing Mobile Legends—what would he say?

Raizen went quiet.

For a long moment, he said nothing.

Then he answered.

“Sorry…”

Another pause.

“Sorry kasi natagalan. Bata pa lang ako, gusto ko na talaga mag champion. Eh ngayon, hindi ko pa nagagawa.”

The honesty in the answer hangs in the air.

Then he adds something softer.

“Ayun… Sorry. Saka… Kapit lang. Magcha-champion din tayo.”

Why Raizen Still Keeps Playing

Despite everything—the roster changes, the near misses, the passing seasons—Raizen keeps returning to the same goal.

“Isang championship lang, maibibigay ko lahat sa pamilya ko. Maibibigay ko sa pamilya ko yung mga gusto nila.”

He wants to give them the things they never had.

“Kunwari, mag travel, ganoon.”

And when asked what still motivates him after all these years, his answer is refreshingly honest.

“Yung pera po talaga.”

But the money is not the point. The point is what it can do.

“Gusto ko po kasi ibigay sa magulang ko yung mga gusto nila, gusto ko sila ipag travel.”

For now, that dream is still unfinished.

But somewhere inside Raizen is the same teenager who once cried just to board a plane to Davao. He’s still chasing the same promise. Still racing against time.

Because as he has learned the hard way in esports—time is gold.

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