Coach Zico Proud to Be Part of Burn X Flash Despite Upsetting Run in M4 World Championship

The Cambodian representative in the M4 World Championship Burn x Team Flash had a disappointing run in the M4 World Championship. The Mobile Legends: Bang Bang (MLBB) team suffered a winless record in the group stage before being eliminated by the North American squad, The Valley, in its first match in the playoff stage. It also didn’t help that its head coach John “Zico” Dizon also suffered from COVID-19 before the group stage competition which may have affected the team’s performance. 

Without a single win in Burn x Team Flash’s M4 World Championship campaign, Coach Zico reflected on the journey, stating that he is still proud that he and the team’s Filipino import Jhonwin "Hesa" Vergara were able to be part of the Cambodian team’s resurgence.

Coach Zico shared the team’s struggles in the M4 World Championship

Through a post-match press conference, Coach Zico, shared the challenges that the team had to overcome in preparation for the M4 World Championship.

“It was the biggest lesson for me, to be careful and not get COVID,” said the coach. “That was the start of everything, the training was difficult without me, especially in the [world] stage.”

He also shared that he had to coach the team online during its matches in the M4 World Championship.

“For (match) Day, against Falcon (Esports), I tried to coach online but we couldn't understand each other because I was only allowed to talk to our manager. So I couldn’t talk to the players themselves on what was our plan in-game,” Coach Zico explained.

“It was hard because it looked like they don’t know what to do. Although it was a food fight but the next matches were very hard,” he added.

He reflected that things would have been different for Burn x Team Flash if he was able to guide the squad physically.

“I feel like if I hadn't gotten COVID we could reach the upper bracket. Because the impact of my absence was different, they were by themselves and they don't know what to do and that was unfortunate,” Coach Zico explained.

Despite the team’s struggles which resulted in the team’s early exit in the playoffs, Coach Zico looked on the bright side. According to him, the impact of having Filipino imports in Burn x Team Flash affected the Cambodian players in a positive way.

“Maybe, their confidence was boosted since the Philippines is strong and they have Pinoy members so it added to their confidence when playing,” he said.

“Even Hesa, they were teaching each other in-game and outside the game. And I am happy because I was part of the journey here. Hopefully, this continues,” The coach added.

Burn x Team Flash finished 15th place in the M4 World Championship. However, the team’s journey in the MLBB esports scene is far from over. It will be interesting to see if the squad will be able to secure itself another chance in the next world series event.