As Aurora players bow their heads in heartbreak, star jungler Jonard "Demonkite" Caranto was all smiles right after the team suffered a close 3-4 loss in the grand finals of MPL Season 14 this past weekend at Green Sun in Makati.
It was not his first to showcase grace in defeat; Demonkite was also all smiles and was in high spirits straight after his former team RSG PH got eliminated in the Playoffs in the last MPL PH Season.
An MPL Season 9 champion and MSC 2022 titleholder, Demonkite takes pride that Aurora, a newcomer in the MPL scene, proved doubters wrong by making it to the finals despite their short time together as a squad. Suffice it to say, he takes defeat like a champ.
"In Eports there is always a winner and a loser. I always look forward to my journey and my team's journey. I am positive in all things; I do not let myself down and not think of anything negative," Demonkite told Daily Tribune.
An underdog in the Playoffs, Aurora defeated the defending MPL champion and M4 world champion Team Liquid PH in a do-or-die series in its first match. They advanced to the upper bracket semifinal where they suffered a defeat against eventual champ Fnatic ONIC PH.
Aurora looked unstoppable in the lower bracket, eliminating the Blacklist International via 3-0 sweep before shocking the two-time world champion Falcons AP Bren in an impressive 4-2 series in the lower bracket final.
And while they fell short in the end, Aurora nevertheless qualified for the M6 World Championship which is set to take place in Malaysia this December. For Demonkite, it is only a matter of time before the team reaches its full potential.
"There is still a huge gap. There is more to learn. As a team, all we have is chemistry, performance, and trust in each other. We still have missing pieces that should we learn, we will get our peak performance," Demonkite stated.