Team Liquid Echo PH and Falcons AP.Bren will represent the Philippines at the MLBB MSC, which would take place at the inaugural Esports World Cup in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia next month.
There was little rest for Team Liquid ECHO and Falcons AP.Bren after competing in the finals of Mobile Legends: Bang Bang Professional League (MPL) Philippines Season 13.
Competing in the Grand Finals ensured the two teams would represent the Philippines at the Mid-Season Cup (MSC) this year.
Vincent “Pandora” Unigo of Falcons AP.Bren detailed their intense MSC preparations.
“Naglaan kami ng mas maraming oras sa training namin. Three to four weeks ang training days namin. Kaunting days lang ang pahinga namin. Kaya handa na kami bago lumipad (for Riyadh),” Unigo explained during the Philippine Sportswriters Association (PSA) Forum at the Rizal Memorial Sports Complex on Tuesday.
Moonton Regional Public Relations Manager Keith Medrano expressed confidence in the Filipino MLBB gamers' chances of winning the $1 million prize for the champion.
“'Yung pagsali natin dito, sobrang laki ng chances natin na manalo, dahil laging Pilipinas ang nananalo dito,” Medrano said.
While the Philippines has dominated the M-series or the world championships and picked up four titles in a row, it's a completely different story at the MSC--formerly known as the Southeast Asia Cup.
In the six iterations of the tournament, Philippine teams have picked up only three titles. ONIC Esports of Indonesia was the 2023 winner, handily beating Filipino squads ECHO and Blacklist International.
“Mas mahigpit po yung competition ngayon, kasi MSC po at lahat po talaga ng teams nag step-up para masungkit ‘yung malaking cash prize. Feel ko po ngayong tournament [MSC] na ito pinaka dikit dikit lahat. Pero malaki pa rin ang chance na Philippines pa rin manalo para sa akin,” Unigo said.
It will take a while before the top tier teams could meet though.
MPL Philippines Season 13 champions Liquid ECHO has been drawn in Group C along with Saudi Arabia's Twisted Minds, Russia-based Team Spirit, and the winner of the wild card phase.
Meanwhile, Season 13 runner-up Falcons AP.Bren is in Group D along with China Qualifier winner Xianyou Gaming, USA's Cloud9--MobaZane and Basic's new squad, along with Myanmar's Falcon Esports.
Unigo named the squads to beat.
“‘Yung malalakas po ngayon para sa amin, ‘yung top one po ng Indonesia [Fnatic ONIC], top one ng Malaysia SRG [Selangor Red Giants], ‘yung top one din po ng Pilipinas, Liquid ECHO. Gusto rin po sila naming talunin, Unigo added.
The MSC will be taking place at the inaugural Esports World Cup in Saudi Arabia.
“They’re building this esports city para sa mga Esports World Cup Tournaments, and they were expecting thousands of on-ground spectators, including po yung nga OFWs natin doon,” said Medrano about the preparations ahead of Esports World Cup.
“Sobrang laking fans po sila ng MLBB, and ‘yun po yung pinakamagandang bilang Pilipino na pupunta roon—na makikita natin yung mga kababayan natin na sumusuporta din sa mga Philippine teams. Since napakarami pong OFWs sa Riyadh, Maging bonding experience na rin po natin ito sa mga kapwa nating Pinoy,” he added.
Both Liquid ECHO and Falcons AP.Bren are set to begin their MSC journey in the group stage, consisting of best-of-three matches, from July 3 to July 7.
The top two teams from each group during the group stage will advance to the knockout stage.
The knockout stage will feature best-of-five matches, while the finals will be best-of-seven.