Filipina host Rose makes her mark as MPL Malaysia’s ‘trilingual queen’

Courtesy: MPL Malaysia

Filipino Import coach Dale Vitug had no one to talk to when he first set foot in MPL Malaysia.

And when his team, Homebois, won their first game in the league’s 11th season, he was already conditioning himself to speak English when he faced the new host, Rose.

But the next words, after a flurry of Bahasa Melayu words coming from the host, would stun him and everyone in the arena.

“Coach Dale, anong pakiramdan na panalo kayo sa unang laban ‘nyo?” Rose said, shocking the dominantly Malaysian crowd and even the Pinoy coach.

On her first day at the job, Rose wowed Malaysians in the arena and Filipinos online as she code-switched between three languages (she spoke English briefly) in the 5-minute segment.

But unlike the wave of imports who came in when she started her hosting gig, Rose lived in Malaysia practically for most of her life.

“‘Yung dad ko is Singaporean so lumaki ako sa state beside Singapore, sa Johor Bahru. So it’s technically a 10-minute drive,” Rose told ABS-CBN News.

“Gusto niya chill kami lumaki. (He wanted us to take it easy growing up.) We weren’t really pressured into doing well in school pero since you know, eldest daughter ka (you’re the eldest daughter) and they were very chill when I entered esports,” she shared.

While she lived in Malaysia all her life, she admitted that she did not learn Malay until she started streaming MLBB.

“Actually, ‘yung Malay na ginagamit ko sa stage natutunan ko 99% sa [MLBB],” she proudly shared.

Aside from streaming the game, she also worked on gadget reviews. While at a talk in her hometown, she met a friend from Moonton Games who invited her over to watch MPL Malaysia.

“In-invite nila ako para magbigay ng talk and one of the people there, one of the persons there, naalala niya 'ko. He now works for Moonton,” Rose said.

(So that time I was invited to give a talk and one of the people at the talk remembered me and said he now works for Moonton.)

After putting it off due to her busy schedule, Rose finally went to the MPL Malaysia Season 10 grand dinals, which had a red carpet to mark the league’s commemorative season.

As she wore a gown to the event, her friend from Moonton suggested: “Do you want to host next season?”

Flustered, she hesitated and laughed off the suggestion at first because this was different from what she was used to.

“Wala akong experience sa hosting, especially on stage, kasi prior to this, usually on cam lang, 'yung mga reviews ko pre-recorded and I only did it for one year. Besides that it was all streaming and content creation. So sabi ko, sure ba kayo? Kasi 'di ako sure, sabi nila think about it, we'll get back to you before the season starts,” Rose said.

(I do not have hosting experience, especially on stage because prior to this I do pre-recorded and on-cam reviews, and I only did it for one year. Besides that it was all streaming and content creation. So I asked “are you sure? Because I’m not.” They told me to think about it and they’ll get back to me before the season starts.)

Come February, a day before her birthday, she got the call briefing her about the audition. The same night, however, one of the talents congratulated her for getting the spot.

And then the important call happened a day before her birthday, with another Moonton representative offering the audition spot for her. But the night of her birthday, one of the talents congratulated her for getting the spot.

“Sabi ko hindi pa ako host, mag-o-audition pa ‘ko. Yun pala hindi nila sinabi sa 'kin na hindi na pala tuloy 'yung audition, host na ako,” she said, adding that it was one of the biggest blessings she got this year.

That, for her, was what kept her lifeline in esports and gaming going.

“Feeling ko it's actually one of the biggest blessings in 2023 kasi I was giving myself a timeline in esports. Sabi ko kaso if 2023 wala pa ring mangyayari sa career ko, streamer pa din ako and content creator, I was planning to actually venture out,” Rose shared.

(I gave myself a timeline in esports. Because I said if nothing happens out of my career here in 2023, I’m going to venture out.)

Her first hosting night 

After getting the hosting gig, she went through a workshop, where she first met Dale. But at the time, she had to hold back from speaking in Filipino.

“Kaso naaawa ako kay Coach Dale nun kasi may sharing session 'yung mga coach and parang naa-out of place siya, lahat sila nagma-Malaysian tapos siya lang 'yung nag i-English. So, ako naaawa ako gusto ko ng kausapin na parang okay lang 'di ka nila tina-trash talk, you know. Kaso nga lang sabi ko, sabi talaga, huwag kang magsalita ng Tagalog so ako talaga tahimik lang ako,” she added.

And when the day came, she decided to finally speak to him in their language. And she didn’t expect it to blow up.

“I was very shocked. Kasi number one, I never expected na magbo-blow up 'yung stunt or me speaking in Tagalog,” she said, adding that she was asked to keep off her phone at first.

With the stint, she feels like she’s able to help her fellow Pinoys buck off stage fright the moment the microphone is passed on to them.  

“When I'm interviewing them, there are times na siguro stage fright, you know, hindi sila nakakapagsalita, nakakapag-isip well or they can't process things in English. Sasabihin ko okay lang mag-Tagalog ka (okay, speak in Tagalog). The answer they come up with is, I do my best to translate it to English or Malay. So I feel like wow, ang useful ko ha (I feel useful),” she said.

With the success she garnered, no less than getting the Best Talent award in MPL Malaysia this year and beating Laphel’s streak, she thanked her followers for their support.

“I wouldn't be hailed as the triple trilingual queen kasi, you know, it's the noise that made it happen. Especially during my first season, the support from my debut until now is insane. People are still messaging me na 'We can't wait for your comeback on stage' ganon. So thank you all so much. Oh, I hope you guys continue to like and appreciate the craft that I put out. I really hope to improve more for you guys and I hope to meet a lot of you guys in the near future.”