MPL Philippines Season 13 champions Team Liquid ECHO keep their noses on the grindstone as they mark their return to the Mobile Legends Mid-Season Cup (MSC), driven to achieve more than their third-place finish from last year.
MPL-Philippines Season 13 champions Team Liquid ECHO are set to represent the Philippines in the Mobile Legends: Bang Bang Mid-Season Cup (MSC).
Alongside M5 World champions Falcons AP.Bren, who are also qualified, both Filipino teams are racing to claim another international title.
Looking back at MSC 2023, Fnatic ONIC (formerly ONIC Indonesia) eliminated Team Liquid ECHO (formerly ECHO Philippines) via a 3-0 sweep semifinals, ending their MSC 2023 campaign in third place.
Liquid ECHO’s seasoned jungler, Karl “KarlTzy” Nepomuceno, is eager to bounce back.
“Sila po ‘yung champion tsaka 3-0 nila kami nung last MSC,” KarlTzy on the chances of getting sweet revenge against the Indonesian squad, who ended up beating Blacklist International to win MSC 2023.
Despite falling short last time, Liquid ECHO are poised to come back with reinforced chemistry and enhanced individual skills, looking to build off of an impressive MPL-Philippines Season 13 title run.
“Actually ‘yung third place po last MSC is not that bad. Pero [feeling] ko kulang pa ‘yung pinakita namin. So this time, parang ire-redeem ‘yung sarili namin na ipapakita namin na kaya pa rin namin mag-champion,” Sanford “Sanford” Vinuya said.
“As a team, kulang po yung chemistry namin, parang hindi pa kami open sa isa’t isa kung ano ‘yung mga dapat ayusin. Medyo maraming problems. Ngayon, parang dine-develop namin ‘yung sarili namin as a player na kung saan makikita namin na mas magandang i-improve, parang gagawin po agad namin tulad sa mga hero pool,” Sanford added, highlighting Liquid ECHO’s notable improvements.
The MSC 2024 knockout stages received minor tweaks with the integration of single elimination format, making the competition steeper for the eight teams.
“Gusto ko lang po patunayan na kahit walang lower bracket, kaya pa rin ng Pinas mag-champion sa international [competition],” Alston “Sanji” Pabico said on making it to the top without the lower bracket as safe haven.
In preparation for the biggest MSC to date, Team Liquid ECHO follow their typical routine of training and scrimmages for about 8-10 hours, but there are moments that they go beyond the allocated practice hours.
“Eight to 10 hours a day ‘yung practice nila. Sila after ng scrim, hindi pa rin sila titigil. Gusto nila mag-ranked game pa rin. Kasi may mga gusto silang i-try na bagong heroes na pwedeng i-apply sa scrim,” Liquid ECHO team manager Mitch Liwanag revealed.
While the Cavalry dedicate many hours to refining their gameplay and testing new tactics, their well-being remains their top priority.
“It was actually part of the household [rules] naman. Automatically, alam naman nila na obligation nila na matulog nang maaga. It’s because we don’t want them na parang clouded ‘yung mind nila during scrims,” Liwanag added on ensuring the health of players.
Liquid ECHO’s tireless perseverance remains a cornerstone of their success and triumphant return to MSC, where the best MLBB teams around the world will compete for glory and the largest prize pool yet in MLBB history.
Team Liquid ECHO have been drawn in Group C for the MSC 2024, along with Twisted Minds, Team Spirit, and the wild card phase winner HomeBois.