THE RIGHT TO LEAVE: Why Renejay, Yawi, and H2WO Owe No One an Explanation

There was no ceremony. No long goodbye. Just a sudden shift in profile banners, a few announcement posts, and then boom. HOK.

Renejay. Yawi. H2WO.

The Big Three who once defined the swagger of Mobile Legends: Bang Bang had crossed over—not to another team, but to another game entirely. They left behind the MPL, its lights, its fandom, its noise.

They chose Honor of Kings.

And the internet, of course, did what it does best: combust.

There were the think pieces. The angry comments. The tearful goodbyes. And somewhere in the crossfire, Mara Aquino—veteran host, courtside constant—caught flak for asking the one question that mattered:  “Why did you leave MLBB?”

Not “Why HOK?” Not “What are the terms?” But the why that sits in your gut when your heroes walk away.

And suddenly, that question was an offense.

But maybe the offense isn’t in the question. Maybe it’s in what it reveals: That we, as a community, still don’t know how to let people go.

The Illusion of Loyalty

Esports is relatively young but the expectations placed on its stars are old and heavy.

We want loyalty. We want legacy. We want players to give their bodies, their time, their youth—for us. For the team. For the brand. But what we don’t admit is this:

Loyalty in esports is romantic. But it’s not always sustainable.

These aren’t machines. These are young men who have grown up under stadium lights and chat scrutiny. They’ve made sacrifices we’ll never fully know. So if one day they decide to change course, is that betrayal?

Or is that survival?

When Yawi left TNC just days after his Big Three brothers joined HOK, the writing was on the wall. This wasn’t a fluke. This was a movement. A closing of a chapter. And not every story needs a villain.

The Comfort of What Was

In 2020, you couldn’t say ML without thinking of Renejay’s roamer reads, Yawi’s signature initiations, or H2WO’s ice-cold late-game precision. They were the era.

But players aren’t required to be monuments. They don’t owe permanence to a league, a game, or a fanbase that cheers them when they win and forgets them when they lose. The truth is simpler, quieter, and more human than any of us want to admit:

Sometimes, you grow. Sometimes, you burn out. Sometimes, you just want something new.

And if HOK offered that—freedom, challenge, compensation, peace—who are we to tell them no?

The Mara Question

Mara Aquino did not ask a wrong question.

She asked a vulnerable one. The kind that isn’t interested in surface-level PR lines, but in truth.
“Why did you leave?” wasn’t about contracts or marketing. It was about feeling. About the ache that comes with letting go.

And if that made people uncomfortable, maybe it’s because we already knew the answer.

Because deep down, we’ve all stayed in places longer than we should have—out of duty, habit, fear. And watching someone walk away with clarity and conviction? That stings.  Because they did what we couldn’t.

Let Them Go

This is not the first exodus, and it won’t be the last.

Games will change. Metas will shift. New titles will rise. And players—if we let them—will choose their own paths. And that should be okay.

So no, this isn’t betrayal. This is bravery.

Renejay, Yawi, and H2WO didn’t just transfer. They reclaimed agency.

And if we’re lucky, if we’re gracious, maybe we’ll learn something from their goodbye: That there is strength in walking away. That endings are not failures. And that sometimes, the most loyal thing you can do for yourself—is to leave.