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Coaching a world-class team is not easy, especially if the coach is the new guy.
One would think that Coach Ong “Aeon” Wei Sheng is living the easy life after Team Liquid ends the first half of MPL PH Season 17 with a 7-0 record. However, nothing is ever given for free in the strongest MLBB region in the world. Coach Aeon wouldn’t be at the helm of Team Liquid if he didn’t have his players’ trust, and that was something that he had to earn.
“It definitely wasn’t easy,” said Team Liquid’s Coach Aeon to The GAME. “Because coming into the team, maybe [Karl “KarlTzy” Nepomuceno] heard of me before but the rest of them didn’t know who I was.”
Coach Aeon’s career started way back in 2018, just as MPL Singapore was taking off. He’s been a part of numerous Singaporean teams as either player or coach and has had some brief international experience. Plainly put however, Coach Aeon isn’t really a known figure outside of MPL Singapore and he knew that would present some challenges when it came to taking the reins of Team Liquid.
“I come from a region that’s seen as one of the weaker regions. So I had to gain [the team’s] trust first, because otherwise whatever I say or try to implement won’t work. Luckily Coach [Allec “SN4P” Alvarado] was already there so he helped me gain the team’s trust. Plus, the management really backed me up so I really appreciated that. I’m thankful that we eventually got to the same page and from that point forward, everything just clicked.”
Knowing Your Role
Moving from a minor region to coaching a world championship contender team is quite the leap. It’s not hard to see why the players wouldn’t listen to a relatively unknown name like Coach Aeon. He had to get Team Liquid on his side and to do that he had to show them that he deserved the Head Coach spot.
“You have to show them that you understand the game at least on their level or even more. A coach’s perspective has to be wider than the player’s. Sometimes we have some fun challenges during practice where I give them a bad draft but they think it’s playable. Then they try it and lose, then they see why it’s bad,” said Team Liquid’s Coach Aeon with a smile. “I also helped with some of the preparations for the Asian Games qualifiers. It was around that time where I could feel that they started trusting me.”
And with that trust established, Team Liquid would dominate the league with their 7-0 first half. Now people are wondering if the fabled 14-0 is possible and Coach Aeon’s answer was brimming with confidence.
“That was always our goal even after week one. No team has done it before, after all. Do I believe that we can do it? Of course I do because in my opinion, I have the best players in the world. So we’ll continue to work hard and if we work the right way, I don’t see why not.”
Banner image courtesy of MOONTON Games.