The stories of redemption from the newly-minted MPL Philippines Season 9 champion RSG Philippine were abundant, and, as cliché as it may get, hard work truly paid off for Dylan “Light” Catipon and Arvie “Aqua” Calderon.

Light and Aqua shared the same experience, from having a promising start to their careers before bumping through challenges. Unbothered of the odds along the way, both players worked their way up and completed their missions.

“Sobrang saya ko po kasi totoo po talaga yung hard work eh. Pag lalo mong sinipagan at ginalingan may patutunguhan lahat kaya sobrang saya ko po lalo na yung family ko and sumusuporta sa amin,” said Aqua who played through three losing seasons since his debut in Season 5 before finally winning it all this time around.

The champion midlaner looked promising in his two-season stint with Blacklist International but that never really translated into victories and success in the pro league. His career even hit rock bottom when he became part of the Cignal Ultra team which had a forgettable 0-13 record in Season 7.

He slowly climbed his way up which started when he joined the newly-formed team in RSG in Season 8. Safe to say, Aqua had gone through it all and that certainly contributed to the calm and composed demeanor he had even during in the most heart-stopping situations of the game.

“Simula nung nagstart ako ng ML pangarap ko na talaga to eh. So nung start ako sa Blacklist lahat ng experience pinagdaanan ko lahat ng role nilaro ko so ngayong Season 9 sobrang dami ng sumusuporta since Day 1, sobrang saya ko po kasi ngayon nakuha na po namin yung championship,” Aqua said.

“Sobrang dami ng experience na rin pong natutunan ko ngayon parang nalabas ko na yung potential (ko),” he added.

Despite being fairly new to the pro scene, Light, for his part, had experienced the same.

Pegged as one of the up-and-coming rookies back in Season 7 with Work Auster Force, Light was a picture of disappointment in Season 8 as he found himself searching for a team after he got cut in TNC Pro Team roster after a last place finish that season.

He got signed by RSG as the team’s roamer and immediately proved that he belongs to the league.

“’Yung mga grind ko na di natutulog. Sinisipagan ko na akala ko walang patutunguhan na hanggang dito na lang ako and then ngayon may pinatunguhan na,” said Light who bagged the regular season MVP plum.

“Sabi nga ni Aqua pag nag sipag ka may mararating din talaga.”