Philippine teams post mixed results in M5 KO stages

MANILA, Philippines – AP.Bren marched on to the upper bracket semifinals after a dominant 3-1 victory over Cambodia champions See You Soon in the Knockout Stages of the M5 World Championships at the EVM Convention Center in Quezon City.

After sweeping the group stages, AP.Bren quickly took Game 1 after a commanding lead against See You Soon. The former finished the match in just under 15 minutes but the latter — which boasts two Filipino players on its roster — punished the Hive after a team fight to take the lord in Game 2. This gave AP.Bren its first loss in the tournament and tied the series at 1-1. 

AP.Bren then wasted no time in showing the world why it is the Philippine champion as it took Game 3 in a little over 11 minutes, thanks to a surprise Odette pick for midlaner Angelo "Pheww" Arcangel and another dominant display in Game 4 to take the series.

Meanwhile, Blacklist International suffered its second defeat in the tournament, falling to Indonesian champion ONIC Esports, 2-3.

It was a valiant effort for the side of the Codebreakers, who many doubted would even get a game against the tournament favorite. But Blacklist International silenced doubters with a Game 1 win.

ONIC Esports equalized in Game 2, but Blacklist International was on the brink of getting ahead in the series as it knocked on the base of the Indonesian champions in Game 3. But an overextension to take an inhibitor saw the Codebreakers wiped out by the 20th minute, propelling ONIC Espots to match point.

Blacklist International came back in Game 4 with a vengeance to force a decider, but it wouldn’t be enough as the Filipino squad was outdrafted in Game 5. ONIC Esports thus advanced to the upper bracket semifinals while Blacklist International fell to the lower brackets.

M Series 5th Anniversary Awards

Prior to the start of the second day of the knockout stages, the M Series Awards Ceremony was broadcasted across different Mobile Legends Bang online channels.

Filipinos once again ruled the awards as six of the Greatest Ten Players came from the Philippines. First to  be announced was AP.Bren’s captain Angelo "Pheww" Arcangel along with Myanmar’s Swan "Ruby DD" Aung and Indonesia’s Muhammad "Lemon" Ikhsan. 

The second batch saw ECHO’s Tristan "Yawi" Cabrera awarded with Blacklist International’s Edward "Edward" Dapadap and Salic "Hadji" Imam and Indonesia’s Eko "Oura" Julianto.

Last were ONIC Esports’ Kairi "Kairi" Rayosdelsol with his teammate Nicky "Kiboy" Pontonuwu. Rounding off the list is the only two-time world champion in Mobile Legends Bang Bang esports, ECHO’s Karl "KarlTzy" Nepomuceno.

Aside from the Greatest Ten Players, the M Series Awarded key partners in the past M Series World Championships as well as honoring hosts and casters with awards. The top assists and kills were also recognized, with Indonesia’s Vyn and the Filipino Sniper, Kiel "Oheb" Soriano walking home with the last two awards.