Smart Omega Empress dethrones Team Vitality to win Women's Invitation title

MANILA, Philippines -- Smart Omega Empress dethroned reigning womens' Mobile Legends Bang Bang (MLBB) champion squad, Team Vitality with a 3-0 sweep at the grand finals of the MLBB Women's Invitation (MWI) in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia during the Esports World Cup.

A marathon of intense MLBB games, Smart Omega Empress started its MWI campaign last July 25 with back-to-back best-of-two matches: a 1-1 draw with Brazil's DreamMax Girls and a 2-0 sweep of Myanmar's Net Angels to finish the group stages at top spot of Group B.

In the quarterfinals last July 26, Smart Omega Empress saw a slow start against Malaysia's Gaimin Gladiators HomeGirls but managed a comeback to complete the reverse-sweep, 2-1, to advance to the semis. 

Hoping to secure a podium finish, Smart Omega Empress eliminated Russia's Victory Song Gamers, who fielded Filipino players Lhoureain "Rianne" Alcaraz and Jewel "Jewel" Reyes on loan from ONIC ZOL, to set a rematch with Indonesia's Team Vitality (previously Bigentron Era).

The two teams last faced each other in last year's Southeast Asian Games, with the Indonesian squad securing the gold medal after a 2-3 win.

But it was a different story in the MWI Grand Finals as Smart Omega Empress was hungry to avenge its earlier losses, hoping to end Team Vitality's dominance in womens' MLBB. Smart Omega saw a quick win in the first two games, dismantling Team Vitality's draft in Game 1 in under 12 minutes; while Game 2 saw the Empresses control the map from minute one to propel them to match point.

Game 3 finally saw Team Vitality fight back, managing to turn things around by the 16th minutes, executing a much-needed turnaround as they defended their base and took the third lord of the game. But Smart Omega Empress did not want to extend the series, exploiting an opening as it initiated a team fight by the 25th minute, which saw three down on the side of Team Vitality. This prompted the Filipino squad to seize the game and take the series.

The win marks the end of Team Vitality's 24-match winning streak dating back to 2021 and crowns a new champion for MWI since the tournament began in 2022. Smart Omega Empress also takes home the lion share of the prize pool with $180,000 (approximately. P10.6 million) and is the first Filipino team to win in the Esports World Cup.