MANILA, Philippines — The two teams that will represent the Philippines in the prestigious Mobile Legends M6 World Championships are heading to Kuala Lumpur with a bullseye on their backs.
The Philippines ruled the event last year with a team carrying the Falcons AP Bren banner. This time, however, it will be MPL PH champion Fnatic Onic PH and Aurora Gaming that will try to keep the crown in the hands of the Filipinos.
“There are 16 international teams competing and 14 of them are looking at us,” said Keith Nino Medrano, who accompanied the teams to the Philippine Sportswriters Association (PSA) Forum at the Rizal Memorial Sports Complex on Tuesday.
The competition is set November 28 to December 15 in the Malaysian capital, and the Philippine representatives are expected to fly in a week ahead of the opener.
“We’re ready. We doubled all our efforts in the preparation,” declared Aurora Gaming coach Aniel “Master the Basics” Jiandani, who came with his player, Edward Jay Dapadap.
Fnatic Onic PH coach Tony “Ynot” Senedrin, who was joined by his player Cyric “Kingkong” Perez, kept his cards close to his chest.
“We’re not looking too far ahead at this time. We’ll see,” said Senedrin in the forum presented by San Miguel Corporation, Philippine Sports Commission, Philippine Olympic Committee, Smart/PLDT, MILO, and the country’s 24/7 sports app Arena Plus.
Fnatic Onic PH will face an early bump on the road when it faces the reigning MPL Indonesia champion Team Liquid ID in its opening assignment. Aurora, on the other hand, tackles the top team from Myanmar, Falcon Esports.
For a change, the group stage in this year’s edition will employ the Swiss format where a new set of draws is held after each round. After five draws, teams that will score three wins will automatically advance to the playoffs of the $1 million event.
The Swiss format offers a new challenge but the Filipinos are in for it.
“Lahat naman first time so sa tingin ko pantay pantay lang,” said Jiandani.