After years of grinding away in RSG Philippines, a trophy was a long time coming for the Smiling Demon.
Last season was a pretty big one for Aurora’s Demonkite as winning the M7 World Championship was more than just raising a trophy for him. It’s the culmination of all his hard work after a near four year title drought.
Cedrix “Demonkite” Caranto has had a pretty straightforward career in the MPL. He debuted in RSG Philippines back in season eight in 2021 and has stuck with the organization up until its closure in 2024. He was able to win an MPL PH title and MSC 2022 with RSG but was until recently trophyless after moving to Aurora Gaming PH.
There’s a narrative around Aurora – how it’s made up of washed-up players, how they always trip at the finish line. They’ve been underestimated from the very start, even despite the impressive performances they’ve recently shown, but Demonkite takes all of it in stride.
“Actually, I don’t mind na may nagba-bash sa amin as long as we’re performing as a team,” said Aurora’s Demonkite. “Kung kapusin man, bawi next season. Kung hindi man at mag-champion kami, thank you sa mga supporters. Hindi ko iniisip masyado yung mga bashers. More on what we can improve on as a team and sa sarili ko para makatulong ako sa team.”
That being said, Demonkite isn’t vindictive towards all the doubters and haters. Aurora may be the M7 world champions, but he knows that people will always have their opinions.
“Kumbaga even though naka-achieve kami ng something so valuable para sa amin, hindi namin mafo-force yung tao i-recognize kami as one of the best to play MLBB sa Philippines,” continued Aurora’s Demonkite. “One of the best, maybe, pero as best of the best, marami pa rin pwede pagusapan.”
A Culmination of Growth
That kind of mature and focused mindset is not something that you stumble into. It has to be instilled in a person and cultivated in the right environment in order to grow. For that, Demonkite thinks back to his time in RSG.
“Hindi lang ako nag-develop in the game kumbaga outside the game din [sa RSG]. Tulad ng attitude towards people, paano ka pakisama sa mga magiging katrabaho mo, magiging teammates mo. Na-adapt ko lang yung mga habits namin sa nagiging time ko with RSG through coach [Brian “Panda” Chang-rok].”
Coach Panda has always been credited as one of the key figures in the development of RSG. Many of his former players always call back to him for the lessons he’s taught them and for years they’ve worked tirelessly together to achieve a world championship title. Now that he’s finally a world champion, Demonkite sees this as a culmination of all that hard work.
“Longing talaga kami para sa title,” said Aurora’s Demonkite. “After so many seasons na puro bigo, hinahanap-hanap namin yung feeling na mag-champion ulit.”
And even then, Demonkite has to admit that they might still be the underdogs despite being world champions.
“Yung pagpanalo namin ng M7, sobrang shocking siya. Na parang naka-perform kami beyond our limits. So feel ko sa tingin ng mga ibang team underdogs pa rin kami.”
But he’s not going to let that stop them from winning more trophies in the future. They won a world championship as underdogs and they can definitely do it again.
Banner photo credit: Mobile Legends Esports.
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