The Mastermind: Boss Rada and His Secret to Forging Champions
For many seasons in the MPL Philippines, Boss Rada was a resounding enigma. Players from Blacklist International would always mention his name on stage and in interviews, and yet nobody knew who he was or what he looked like.
For 10 years, Boss Rada worked in the BPO industry before he made the leap of faith and moved to esports in 2019, a time when there was no guarantee of success in the scene. Since then, he’s gained the respect of coaches and players as one of the most effective esports managers in the country.
Insiders often credit Boss Rada, whose real name is Elrasec Ocampo, as the mastermind behind the success of some of the most popular players in the MLBB esports scene today. Under his leadership, Blacklist International won three titles in MPL Philippines, the M3 World Championship, and a gold medal at the 31st Southeast Asian Games.
And yet for a man with so much renown, Boss Rada is an unassuming man whose charm can pretty much disarm anyone. We first met Boss Rada during the launch of his new team, Aurora, in which he serves as the country lead. He cut us off when we introduced ourselves. “Kilala kita no!” he said. We had never even met.
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Boss Rada left Blacklist in Season 11, only to return in grand fashion as Aurora’s country lead. Aurora Gaming is a Serbia-based esports organization with rosters around the world playing for multiple gaming titles.
For a good part of the launch night, Rada stood beside the stage, careful not to draw too much attention to himself. Until he was called on stage. And this was the moment that impressed us.
Boss Rada was electric, despite not having appeared on a public stage in the past. People screamed loudly when his name boomed on the speakers as he was called. And for his part, he knew how to work up a crowd. In Filipino, huling huli ang kiliti ng mga tao.
“Isa lang ang sasabihin ko. Na-miss ko mag-champion ulit,” Boss Rada said on the mic.
(“I only have one thing to say. I miss winning the championship.”)
The crowd loved it.
“Expect one thing: Magkakaroon tayo ng bagong champion!” yelled Rada back.
(“Expect one thing: We will have a new champion!”)
Thunderous roar. Rada raised his mic and dropped it.
The man knows how to create a spectacle.
Boss Rada as Professor X
But that’s just part of the many talents of Boss Rada, who is like Professor Charles Xavier from the X-Men: He knows how to read people and “activate” their potential. As the mastermind, that is the true power of Boss Rada.
“If you want to activate someone and make them work, you have to pinpoint what bothers them and eliminate or at least minimize these so they can focus on their goals. That’s what I did to the players, so they could focus on just playing,” Boss Rada told ALL-STAR.
Boss Rada even goes the extra mile of going to the players’ hometowns in the provinces just to get to know their families and friends. He even reads everything that the press writes about the players, even if these were published years ago.
“Siguro naniwala rin yung mga players and they felt genuine about how it was done, and with that, they were really activated,” said Boss Rada.
(“I guess the players believed in the management because they felt genuine about how it was done, and with that, they were really activated.”)
During a pre-season press conference with the managers and heads of each team in the MPL, Rada said something that caught our attention: “If a team loses, don’t blame the players. Also blame the management.” Conversely, if a team wins, the management also deserves credit, not just the players.
But why does the management need to be acknowledged?
If you talk to some of the team managers and coaches in the MPL, some will say that 90 percent of how games are won happens outside the game.
That’s what two-time world champion Francis Glindro aka Coach Duckey of Falcons AP BREN told this editor: “Kailangan maayos muna yung buhay mo before you can actually perform… (Your life has to be in order before you can actually perform.) Coaching about the game is 10 to 15 percent of what coaching really is. There are a lot of things happening outside the game that can really affect how the game is won.”
Rada knows exactly what Coach Duckey was talking about. He just calls it “activating” the players.
“Pagdating naman sa management, we have to ask, ano ba ginagawa nila sa players? Pinapabayaan lang ba? May mga bad habits na bang nabuo? May mga conflicts na bang nabuo within the team? May mga issues or problems na ba yung mga players na hindi na makapag-perform kasi they are put under pressure na? Mga ganoon. It’s really all the management,” said Rada.
(“When it comes to the management, we have to ask, what are they doing for the players? Are they neglecting them? Are there bad habits that have taken root? Are there brewing conflicts within the team? Are there issues or problems among the players that are pressuring them and affecting their performance? Things like that. It’s really all the management.”)
Not a lot of people know that conflicts arise in teams more often than people realize, and most of the time, these conflicts cost the team crucial games and championships.
But conflict resolution is just one of the issues that Boss Rada has to manage. He also has to oversee each player’s performance.
“You have to look at the management. Ano bang ginagawa nila para gumaling yung player na iyon? Ano yung mga challenges or roadblocks ng player na iyon or team na iyon? Management lang makakagawa noon, regardless kung may coach ka doon or kung paano yung play style nila,” added Rada.
(“What are they doing to help the player improve? What are the challenges or roadblocks facing players or the team? Only the management can act on these, regardless of the coach or their play styles.”)
Another testament to Rada’s handiwork was the culture he imparted in Blacklist.
Renejay was witness to that when he was still in Blacklist.
“Noong nagpunta po ako ng Blacklist, po doon ko nakita yung work ethic nila, kung gaano po sila kagrabe magtrabaho. Meron po talaga silang goal. Sa Blacklist, hindi nagsasayang ng oras. Wala po kaming sinasayang na oras doon,” Renejay told this editor in Season 12.
(“When I came to Blacklist, that’s where I saw their work ethic and how serious they were. They had a goal. In Blacklist, we never waste time.”)
What Players Have to Say About Boss Rada
Now that Renejay and Rada are together in Aurora, the superstar roamer describes his enabler as a visionary leader.
“Si Boss Rada, palagi po siyang nag-iisip tungkol sa future na may wisdom at imagination. Visionary leader po siya,” Renejay told ALL-STAR
(“Boss Rada is a visionary leader who is always thinking about the future with imagination and wisdom. He is a visionary leader.”)
Coach Dexstar also validated Rada’s reputation as a leader.
“Nakuha niya respeto ko dahil nakita ko paano siya magtrabaho at bigyan ng oras ang mga bagay-bagay. May puso siya sa work. Hindi siya nagtatrabaho dahil lang may sahod siya, talagang pinupusuan niya yung mga under niya and mararamdaman mo iyon kapag naging under ka sa kanya,” said Coach Dexstar.
(“He gained my respect because I saw how he works and how he dedicates his time to things. He’s very passionate about his work. He doesn’t just work for money, he’s really passionate about this job and the people around him. You would feel that when you’re working with him.”)
Dexstar also understands what Renejay was talking about when he said Boss Rada is always thinking about the future.
“Hindi pa nangyayari, may solusyon na siya sa mga bagay bagay. He’s a pro-active leader,” said Dexstar.
(“He anticipates problems and devises solutions for them before they happen.”)
Boss Rada in the War Room
Efficiency is another corporate word Rada brought into esports. And time management is a pillar of efficiency. That kind of culture is now being implemented in Aurora.
“You want your organization to have a really effective and efficient culture among the backend and the players, so their commitment would transpire as an achievement or a milestone,” said Boss Rada.
Apart from driving the right culture of efficiency and time management, Boss Rada also leads Aurora as its packmaster.
In Aurora, every game is taken seriously regardless of who they are facing. The team slept past midnight studying and preparing for their matches against Blacklist International and RSG.
At 11:30 p.m. on the eve of their fight against RSG, Rada sent us a photo of the team preparing for the match:
You can see Renejay reviewing scrims with Demonkite, and Domeng analyzing his plays, Coach Master the Basics working on the desk, and Benthings watching replays on TV. And Boss Rada was among them, not one to slack off when the team is preparing for war.
Throughout the years he’s spent with players, Boss Rada learned something from them he will never forget.
“What I really learned from the players is that iba ang god mode ang isa sa god mode ang lima,” said Boss Rada. “Iyon ang natutunan ko sa kanila na akala nila ay sinasabi ko lang na words of wisdom, pero sa kanila ko natutunan iyon.”
(“What I really learned from the players is the difference between the god mode of one player versus the god mode of five players. They think I am just saying that because it sounds good, but I actually learned that from them.”)
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“Kasi kapag sinabi mong chemistry, that’s very superficial sa kung ano ba talaga ang dapat gawin para magkaroon talaga ng connection. Kailangan talaga na magsabay-sabay yung lima, yung main five, na may tamang execution, may sistema talagang susundan.,” he added.
(“When you talk about chemistry, it’s usually very superficial, touching on what the players need to do to have connection. What is needed is for the main five to act as one. To have perfect execution, and to follow a system.”)
Not all esports bosses have a hands-on approach like Rada, and that is one of the reasons why players believe so much in him.
“Noong nag-resign si Boss Rada noong Season 11, dapat ba-bounce na rin ako nun,” Edward Dapadap told Tiebreaker Times in July. “Pero dahil nga pumunta si Boss Rada sa Aurora, sumama na ko sa kanila.”
(“When Boss Rada resigned in Season 11, I wanted to leave as well. When he went to Aurora, I followed him.”)
He doesn’t deny that his charisma among the players is probably one of the things that made them follow him in Aurora.
“Alam naman nila yung leadership style ko and alam naman nila na in terms of my goals and objectives, firm talaga ako roon,” said Rada.
(“They know my leadership style and how firm I am when it comes to my goals and objectives.”)
“Ayaw kong mapilitan lang yung players or mabulag lang sa kung magkano yung offer. It’s more of like me setting expectations of them and them setting their expecations of me, and whether that matched. Kasi kung hindi, huwag na lang. Ang pangit kasi kapag napilitan sila sumama, versus sa interesado talaga sila.”
(“I don’t want players to come onboard just because they had no choice or because they were blinded by the offer. It’s more of me setting my expectations of them, and them setting their expectations of me, and whether that matched. If that didn’t match, we wouldn’t pursue. It’s not good to have someone who’s here because he was forced to be here. It’s better if he’s really interested to be here.”)
“It’s impossible to have a better culture if you have intentions other than the success of the players.”
Working on the backend side of esports could be a thankless job that often goes unnoticed. But for Boss Rada, it’s where he found joy.
“Did you find happiness in esports?” we asked him.
“Of course! And not just happiness but fulfillment,” said Rada.
During his days in the call center, Rada was able to help employees get promoted. They are now leading successful lives. Now in esports, he finds fulfillment when players reach milestones at such young ages.
Edward, for one, became a homeowner at 17 years old. And VeeWise are now the one of the most marketable esports personalities in the country.
“It fulfills me. With the vision I managed to follow way back then, there were a lot of people whose dreams you helped fulfill.”
But the job is far from done. In fact, they are just starting, and Aurora has yet to prove anything in esports.
That’s the reason why Rada has got his hands full this season.
“Of course we want to win the championship, not only locally but internationally. That’s the part in which culture plays an important role,” said Boss Rada.
And that’s why teams need excellent managers because according to Rada, the managers’ intentions will reflect in the kind of culture a team has.
“It’s impossible to have a better culture if you have intentions other than the success of the players,” Boss Rada told ALL-STAR. “Esports in the Philippines can still be better, we just need the right intentions and something to drive the right culture.”
Imparting a winning culture in esports is one of the things Rada hopes to establish in the country.
“That’s why I came back, though I know this is an exhausting job. Nakakapagod ito, nakaka stress, lahat na ng klaseng emosyon ay nandito, it’s a roller-coaster ride. But mas strong yung feeling na alam kong kaya pa, kaya pumayag ako sa Aurora. Let’s do this and see what we can do for the next two to three years.”
Publisher and Creative Director: James Leonard Cruz. Art Director: Karlota Tuazon. Interview and Cover Story: Mario Alvaro Limos. Photos: Vyn Radovan. Video: Jay Pelo. Video Editor: Dodge Buangin. Social Media Gelo Lasin. Hair and Makeup: Muriel Vega Perez, assisted by: Lalai Glendro. Special thanks: RK Acapulco. Shot on Location: Cellar XXII, The Bellevue Manila
