Neil “Midnight” de Guzman will no longer be with the Nexplay Evos coaching staff for the MPL Philippines Season 9, the team announced on Tuesday, Nov. 9.
Midnight will be leaving his analyst post in Coach John Michael “Zico” Dizon’s coaching staff but Nexplay said de Guzman will still join the organization in other projects.
“Still not the end between Nexplay EVOS and Midnight.Though he will not join us in MPL Season 9, other exciting project collaboration with Midnight is on the works. So, stay tuned! Thank you for all your contribution as Team Analyst and being a close ally of NXP,” said the NXP in an announcement.
The MPL caster-analyst helped NXP turn things around in Season 8 after a series of misfortunes in the first two seasons of the squad in the MPL. The team finished at the 8th spot in Season 6 and Season 7 which was infamously dubbed as the team’s “8th place curse.”
The addition of Midnight along with other acquisitions in veteran Jeniel “Haze” Bata-Anon and rising rookie Jhonwin “Hesa” Vergara allowed NXP to break the bad spell and overcome the first round of the playoffs, eventually finishing at the fourth spot – its highest place since joining the league in Season 6.
In a post on his official Facebook page, Midnight thanked NXP Evos for letting him in and for the bond he and his crew have produced during his brief tenure with the team.
"Thank you for the opportunity and for the trust! It has been an amazing season with NXP Evos. Although I’m leaving the battlefield on S9, I’m not leaving behind the friends and the bonds I made along the way. I found another family,” wrote Midnight while hinting at a possible return to his previous MPL role at the analyst’s desk.
“I hope to witness another great success and an even higher achievement... from the desk.”