AP.Bren ends host country curse, wins M5 World Championship at home

MANILA, Philippines – In all the past world championships and Mobile Legends Southeast Asia Cup, no country has won the international title while being the host. 

Not until M5, as Filipino champion AP.Bren has broken the dreaded host country curse and made history as the first ever MLBB team to win the M-Series World Championship at home court after defeating ONIC Esports, 4-3, at the Rizal Memorial Coliseum at Manila City.

After suffering a gut-wrenching sweep at the hands of the Indonesian Champions at the Upper Brackets, AP.Bren was hungry to get revenge and win it all for the Filipinos.

Game 1 saw a dominant outing from the Hive, similar to how it opened the upper bracket match-up. But unlike the disaster of a game wherein AP.Bren found themselves losing after a strong 13-0 start the day before, the Filipino squad was able to secure the opener after 14 minutes and 13 seconds with a 7-1 win.

It was a pendulum Game 2 as the two teams traded leads for majority of the almost 23-minute game. But eventually, it was ONIC Esports that equalized the series after the Sonics punished AP.Bren by the 20th minute lord.

Knowing what was on the line, AP.Bren outdrafted ONIC Esports in Game 3. But it was the opposite for Game 4 as ONIC Esports managed to tie the series, 3-3, after winning Game 5 and shifting to an aggressive play in Game 6.

With the match-up turning into a best of one, AP.Bren went back to the strategy it is known for, focusing on objectives and eventually outplaying ONIC Esports, 11-7, to make history as the first team to win in front of a home crowd. 

Coach Francis "Ducky" Glindro, with players Angelo "Pheww" Arcangel and David "FlapTzy" Canon thus cemented their MLBB legacy with two M-Series titles to their name — a feat that only ECHO’s Karl "KarlTzy" Nepomuceno has done.