Tears, trials, triumphs mark M5 World Championship

MANILA, Philippines – The M5 World Championship concluded with a historic win by Filipino squad AP.Bren. Not only did coach Francis "Ducky" Glindro and players Angelo "Pheww" Arcangel and David "FlapTzy" Canon win their second world championship title, the squad was also the first to clinch an international Mobile Legends Bang Bang (MLBB) tournament in front of a home crowd.

But aside from the historic moment, many tales surrounded the more than two-week tournament as Mobile Legends Bang Bang celebrated a milestone fifth anniversary in competitive esports. Here are just a few that captured the hearts of fans here and across the globe.

Tears from what could have been

In any competition, there will always be those who stand proud in victory, and those who are left in the shadows in defeat.

Stories of heartbreaks were on hand during the M5, especially in the knockout stages as teams were eliminated one by one.

Myanmar’s Burmese Ghouls and Turkey’s Fire Flux Esports saw early elimination even after showing promise during the group stages, with the Turkey squad even finishing as the top of their group. The elimination saw tears of lost opportunities flow as the two teams had been eyed as strong contenders, with Burmese Ghouls making a comeback since their M2 runner-up finish and Fire Flux Esports’ steady rise in MLBB dominance since their M3 run.

Geek Fam Indonesia and Cambodia’s See You Soon were next to see the chopping block, and with their elimination came tears after kissing goodbye their region’s hope for the M-Series. Geek Fam Indonesia’s run had been one for the books. Their runner-up finish in MPL Indonesia has been the team’s best in the league’s 12 seasons, and they had hoped to make history once more in M5. But it was not meant to be. Cambodia’s See You Soon finally broke the region’s group stage exits, making it to the top six and was aiming to reach the Final Four. But their efforts were thwarted in the last turn as European champions’ Deus Vult completed a reverse sweep to eliminate the Cambodian champions.

Endless trials

But tears of what-ifs weren’t the only ones that flowed during the tournament, as tears of pride and joy washed through the audience as fans bore witness to the emergence of heroes.

Blacklist International’s Renejay "Renejay" Barcase and MLBB legend Naser "Dogie" Mollazehi cried in the broadcast as they reminisced about where the former had started and where he was now — a few matches away from being world champion. One of the favorites of the tournament, Blacklist International saw an early titan in Indonesian champion ONIC Esports at the start of the knockout stages.

Many doubted the Codebreakers for their young roster compared to other teams in the M5. But Blacklist International showed up to fight, turning what many believed to be a 3-0 sweep into a thrilling 2-3 match-up. Unfortunately, Blacklist International fell short and was dropped to the lower brackets, then needing four matches to win if they wanted to reach the grand finals.

Blacklist International had been down back in M3 when they were also dropped to the lower brackets at first instance but managed to win it all, taking home the M3 crown.

A gargantuan trial was also set in front of European champions Deus Vult with Filipino coach Kenneth “Flysolo” Coloma, who had his own trials to overcome. Last March, Coloma was injured in a car accident with his then team Pendekar Esports from the development league in Indonesia. Coloma had been in a coma for a week after the accident and had been suffering some residual issues from the crash.

Despite that, Coloma managed to rally his team, transforming it into a family and making Deus Vult the dark horses of M5. Many counted out the European Champions, having listed them to have an early exit as the region cannot go toe-to-toe with the meta of Southeast Asia.

And yet Dues Vult silenced their doubters as they finished in the top four in the M5, making stars of the likes of Mathaios "Kid Bomba" Chatzilakos, Carl "Carvi" Tinio, and Eduard "Magistor" Rukosuev while cementing legacies for Stanislav "SAWO" Reshnyak and Kemiran "Sunset Lover" Kochkarov, who previously appeared in previous M-series tournaments but were eliminated early.

In an interview with Philstar.com, Coloma shared how he considers his own health trials as a blessing.

“Para sa akin sobrang saya na kahit ganoon yung nangyari sa akin sa umpisa ng taon, nagiging blessing siya na binigay ni Lord. Dahil sa kanila, wala rin naman ako dito. Sobrang thankful ko na nandito ako ngayon,” said Coloma.

Triumph amid doubt

But at the end of the day, fans were all focused on one thing: who would win it all?

Would it be another all-Filipino final? Would the host country curse finally be broken? Will MLBB finally have a two-time world champion? Will one team finally complete an MLBB grand slam?

As the final three teams battled it out, one thing was certain, a historic MLBB M5 finale looms.

The hope of an all Filipino-final for a third M-series in a row was dashed as ONIC Esports, dominated AP.Bren in the upper bracket final. Giving Filipinos the match-up they had wanted in the lower bracket finals.

For Blacklist International, it was yet another match in what many consider as another miracle run while for AP.Bren it was a hurdle in the way of completing their world tour of titles, having won the Southeast Asian Games, and the World Esports Championship previously.

As the two teams entered the arena, brandishing their previous M-Series trophies, it was a battle of both Filipino pride and hope as many believed it was the end of the Philippine era in MLBB. In the end it was, AP.Bren who would advance to the finals, carrying the hope of a nation.

As many doubted whether AP.Bren could win against ONIC Indonesia, after their earlier 0-3 defeat in the upper brackets, AP.Bren showed how they were not out of the running as they took a 3-1 lead in the best of seven finale. But as the night went on to the early hours of the following day, ONIC Esports forced a decider after tying the series 3-3 once again rekindling the doubts of many that the Philippines could once again win the championship, especially when ONIC Esports took a 4-7 lead by the sixth minute of Game 7.

The cloud of doubt was dissipated by the Hive as it was clear that AP.Bren was back to their known strategy, focusing on objectives rather than kills and forcing key skills away for ONIC Esports, which gave the Filipinos the advantage they needed to take series after just 14 minutes, making history as the first team to win two world championship titles and the first team to win in front of a home crowd, cementing the country’s legacy as one, if not the, strongest MLBB region.

As Filipinos rejoice amid another M-series title, the country’s hosting of the tournament has been filled with moments that will go down in history.