In the wake of his spicy remarks regarding the MLBB Pro League Philippines, Ian “FwydChckn” Hohl, a prominent figure in Gaimin Gladiator’s MLBB squad, has found himself thrust into the spotlight as the target of widespread backlash within the Filipino MLBB community. And last night, he retaliated by alleging that the MPL PH production team had orchestrated a smear campaign against him.
Last week, Fwyd reiterated his preference for the MPL Indonesia over the Philippines, citing the former’s superior production quality. While he acknowledged the high level of gameplay in MPL PH, he felt that MPL PH had grown somewhat stale for him. However, these comments were not well-received by the MPL PH community, who took offense at his critique.
Throughout week 3 of MPL PH S13, Fwyd became the focal point of ridicule, with segments dedicated to mocking him and several prominent teams, including AP Bren, Onic PH, and Blacklist International, chiming in with disparaging remarks.
Reacting to the backlash, Fwyd criticized the MPL PH production team for their handling of the situation, suggesting that they either took offense to his remarks or cynically exploited them for entertainment value. He characterized their actions as unprofessional and indicative of a lack of creativity within the production team.
“That whole MPL PH thing is so funny. You wanna know why? I think two things happened here. One, someone in the production got butthurt about me saying PH production is sh*t compared to indo. Or two, which I think is objectively worse, that they thought attacking me is an entertainment. Because they can’t create interesting productions inside their own region, so what they need to do is attack me inside the stage. So unprofessional.”
While Fwyd harbors no ill will toward the pundits or professional players involved, he believes that they were merely following directives from the production team. He asserts that the real issue lies with the individuals responsible for crafting the production’s narrative, whom he accuses of manipulating his words to vilify him unfairly.
“I do not blame the hosts, casters, or pros for anything that they said. They’re all great people. I think it’s the production team behind the scenes that tell the casters what they can and can not say. Or tell the pros what question they’re going to ask. I’ve been there in the exact same situation.”
“The people I am addressing are the ones who sit behind the computers and headsets, coming up with their poor ideas of production entertainment. It’s a half-assed production, overall. How is it possible that someone on that team thought it was a good idea to manipulate the words from a foreign pro player, taking them out of context to make me look bad?” he said.
Despite facing continued criticism from the MPL PH community, Fwyd remains steadfast in his refusal to apologize or taking down his video until he receives a formal apology from the MPL PH production team.
