Shake-ups rock MPL PH Season 8

MANILA, Philippines — Even though no official announcement has been made on changes in the league, MPL PH Season 8 is seeing quite a storm of changes.

Rumors that the coming season will be adopting the same model as MPL Indonesia surfaced in early June. The Franchise Model, if adopted, would have teams paying a one-time fee to be permanently part of the league, eliminating the need for qualifiers. Standardization of rules and regulations, as well as team and player contracts, would also be implemented to ensure security.

Last June, Nexplay Esports announced its partnership with Indonesia-based esports organization EVOS. Nexplay has been a fan favorite during the group stages but suffered an early exit during the first round of MPL PH Season 7 playoffs.

EVOS isn't the only international organization that is heading to the Philippine shores. Tie Breaker Times reported that Singapore-based esports organization Resurgence is also rumored to follow in EVOS's path of establishing a partnership with any of the local teams.

TNC Predator has also expressed its desire of entering the Mobile Legends scene and is rumored to partner with Work Auster Force. Work Auster Force had a good run during the group stages of MPL PH Season 7 and defeated Nexplay in the lower bracket but was eventually eliminated by BREN Esports.

Besides rumors of international organizations coming in and local teams partnering up, news of organizations parting ways with their current rosters have also been surfacing left and right.

Last July 2, Aura PH seemed to have bid farewell to their current roster with a Facebook post while Smart Omega also bid farewell to their current roster with a post and tribute video.

But the most heartbreaking news of all came from Execration, who just 10 days after winning the MSC 2021 championships announced that they will be supporting their current roster by finding an organization where "they could thrive and find success". 

In a July 5 post on Execration's Facebook, EJ Miranda said that the team has officially left the Execration Bootcamp for their new home and that an announcement will be made later this month.