MANILA, Philippines — Saudi Arabian organizations Twisted Minds and Team Falcons will make their Philippine esports debut, having joined the Mobile Legends Professional League (MPL) Philippines’ 15th Season.
In a meeting with the media, Moonton Games Philippines head of operations Matthew Chan announced that the two organizations will be taking over the slots vacated by Blacklist International and RSG Philippines.
Twisted Minds and Team Falcons will be fielding all-Filipino rosters led by country managers Lexie Yambao and Ren Vitug, respectively.
"We are thrilled to welcome Saudi Arabian esports organizations Twisted Minds and Team Falcons into the league, as part of the franchise teams. This partnership is aligned with our mission to expand further the ecosystem through overseas partnerships and forge a sustainable ecosystem that benefits our teams. We are also positive that this initiative can potentially position the Philippines as an attractive esports business hub and it could open doors for collaboration with organizations outside Southeast Asia," said Chan.
Team Falcons said they driven by the fan support they enjoyed during the Esports World Cup, where they partnered with AP Bren during the Mobile Legends Bang Bang Mid-Season Cup (MSC).
“We fell in love with the fandom and the fans and how popular the game is here and also how much the fans interact with the team and we want to do this ourselves now. We’re here to compete and to win and we know we can do that with a team from the Philippines. Even further we see the advantages of building up the community, from the staff to a facility, to really build Team Falcons here in the Philippines,” said Grant Rousseau, global esports director of Team Falcons.
The level of competition and winning legacy are also what brought Twisted Minds to the Philippines.
“We wanted to expand overseas. We want to compete at the highest level and the Philippines is the best in terms of competition and that’s why we decided to invest here,” added Ibrahim Bin Jibreen, CEO of Twisted Minds.
The teams’ MPL Philippines Season 15 official rosters will be revealed at a later date.