MANILA, Philippines -- The M5 World Championship will open with a rematch of the M2 Grand Finals clash: the Philippines' AP.Bren versus Myanmar's Burmese Ghouls.
The two teams last faced each other in 2021, where AP.Bren, then called Bren Esports, survived the Myanmar team in a thrilling best-of-seven series. The Filipino team won it all, starting what many have dubbed as the Philippine era in Mobile Legends Bang Bang esports.
Besides Burmese Ghouls, AP.Bren is grouped with Singapore champion Team Flash whose star player is Filipino jungler Jaymark "Hadess" Lazaro. The last spot in Group C is set aside for the top two teams of the wildcard happening in Malaysia this November.
Fellow Filipino team Blacklist International is in Group B with Latin America champion RRQ Akira and Turkiye champion Fire Flux Esports, with the final spot in the group also allotted for the wildcard.
Besides the group draw, Moonton Games has also announced the theme for the upcoming M5 World Championship, the taglines #BetterThanGreat and #ZeroToHero marking a new chapter in the title's esports scene: highlighting the arrival of new regions while celebrating past and current heroes that have elevated the Mobile Legends Bang Bang professional scene.
In anticipation of M5, Moonton has also announced the exclusive M5 Yu Zhong "Dragon Shade" Epic skin and the "Cosmic Dragon" Prime skin which fans may get after purchasing and levelling up the M5 Pass.
Tournament the ticket sales have also opened with Group Stage tickets priced from P150 to P250, Knockout Stage Phase 1 tickets from P150 to P350, Knockout Stage Phase 2 from P250 to P599, and the Grand Finals ticket prices priced from P500 to P1,599.
The tournament is slated in Manila on December 2 at the EVM Convention Center.