Work Auster Force coach Laurenz "Lift" Ruiz believes that his star jungler Daniel "Chuuu" Chu is the perfect fit for the national Mobile Legends: Bang Bang team in the 31st Southeast Asian Games later this year in Hanoi, Vietnam.
With reports saying that players below 18 years old will not be allowed in the SEA Games, Bren Esports' bemedalled jungler Karl "KarlTzy" Nepomuceno will not be eligible as he is only 17 years of age.
KarlTzy, the Season 6 and M2 Grand Finals MVP, played a key role in the Sibol ML national squad that clinched the gold medal against Indonesia in the 30th SEA Games hosted by the Philippines in 2019.
Execration veteran Billy "Z4pnu" Alfonso, a well-known figure in the PH ML scene, claimed on his YouTube vlog titled "SEA GAMES LINEUP?" that Nexplay Esports' core John Paul "H2wo" Salonga is a shoo-in for the Sibol roster in the biennial meet.
But Work's mentor Lift thinks otherwise, especially after Chuuu and the crew eliminated H2wo and the fan favorite NXP with a 3-1 victory in the lower bracket playoffs of the MPL Philippines Season 7 on Wednesday night, May 26.
"Si Chuuu talaga ang totoong pang-SEA Games (Chuuu is really the one who's fit for the SEA Games)," said Lift in the post-match interview.
Both Chuuu and H2wo are 18 years old, and if the reports hold true, the two will be among the top picks for the national team with KarlTzy out of the pool.
Also eligible for the SEA Games are Blacklist International's Danerie James "Wise" Del Rosario (20 years old), Smart Omega's Salic "Hadjizy" Imam (18), Aura PH's Mark "Lord Hadess" Lazaro (19) and Onic PH's Jaylord "Hate" Gonzales (18).
Meanwhile, Lift had a message for those who voted in the Work versus NXP poll put up by analyst-caster Neil "Midnight" De Guzman
Almost 95 percent went in favor of Setsuna "Dogie" Ignacio's NXP and the rest believed in Work.
"Masasabi ko lang sa 95 percent na bumoto, sana okay lang kayo ngayon (To those 95 percent, I hope you're okay)," Lift said in jest. "Sa five percent na bumoto, salamat sa suporta (To the five percent, thank you for the support)."