It has been a period to remember for local esports team RSG SG. Having won the MPL SG (Mobile Legends: Bang Bang Professional League Singapore) title for Season 3, they retained their crown in some style for Season 4 — becoming the first team in MPL SG history to finish an entire season without losing a single match.
While they couldn’t start the year on the same high, exiting the recent M4 World Championship at the Knockout Stage, they will look to continue their successes; particularly for the upcoming Season 5 of MPL SG.
Before their bout at M4, we caught up with the team to chat about them being in the esports industry and discuss life as esports players.
Starting from the beginning, how did you guys end up in the esports industry?
Bray: I wanted to try and play professionally for RSG, and so I went for their trials which lasted for about 2-3 weeks. I did not pass the tryouts, but later on, I got a call back from Ben, the manager, who gave me another chance to prove myself.
Babycakes: A friend and I wanted to see where we stood on a competitive level, and we managed to pass trials.
Roy: I started playing MLBB through a recommendation by a friend. After a while, I started climbing the ranks and ended up here.
What’s the usual daily routine of being a professional esports team?
Bray: The daily routine is usually having about 3 online scrims on weekdays and 1 offline scrim on weekends during the on-season.
Babycakes: Being a part-time esports team requires regular training daily while still having time spent on other commitments (e.g. school/jobs etc.).
Does that routine change ahead of competitions like M4?
Bray: Yes it does; during the final week before a tournament or the start of a season, we would have bootcamps which last about 1 week. (So) we would have to have scrims each day for the whole week till the start of the tournament. Additional scrims would be considered too, if we perform badly in scrims.
How do you guys adapt to roster changes in your team?
Bray: We make sure that they play with us occasionally to improve our chemistry together and make sure that they understand our gameplay/gamestyle.
Babycakes: Adapting to a completely different player’s playstyle isn’t easy, but being friends with them makes it easier.
Usually, games are people’s form of relaxation. But it is your job. How do you guys make that separation off work?
Bray: Usually, I would just play rank games casually with friends while streaming
Babycakes: Turning a hobby into your job is something one can only experience themself. The challenge to it, preventing your interest from turning into a bore.
Roy: I have some motivations, like scrolling TikTok or doing some other activities to take my mind off things to reset.
As Singapore’s only representatives at M4, is there any extra pressure?
Bray: Of course, there is extra pressure as now we are the only team representing Singapore in M4, which means that there are higher expectations from the locals for us achieve a higher placing than before.
Babycakes: I never really thought much about it. I guess the pressure isn’t as visible as most would think, given that it’s a pressure shared by 5 of us.
If you’d like to know more about RSG SG, you can head to their official RSG YouTube page, which hosts many videos of the Team’s behind-the-scenes.
With Season 5 of MPL SG coming soon, you can also get updated by checking out the MPL SG Facebook and Instagram in the lead-up to its commencement!
Visuals courtesy of MPL SG.
