The fourth Mobile Legends:Bang Bang global championship tournament (M4), which was hosted in front of big audiences in Jakarta, after previously being played on a restricted set in 2022, became the most talked-about esports competition in the first two weeks of January 2023.
With the emergence of new names, there was no doubt that the competition would be full of surprises. Ulti was there in the flesh from group stages to the grand finals. Here are the best moments from the championship!
1.Sanford, the youngest player in the M Series
Although many well-known EXP laners, including R7 (RRQ), Butss (Onic), Edward (Blacklist), and yellowflash (Falcon), were playing in M4 tournament, it was the young guy from Echo who stole the attention of the audience: “Sanford” Marin Vinuya.
Until recently, the 16-year-old EXP laner was a relatively obscure player. He was previously listed as a substitute in Evos Nexplay till July 2022. In the following month, Echo’s head coach and one of their regulars, Tristan “Yawi” Cabrera, insisted on bringing Sanford into the team. They identified him as a player who could help Echo’s MLBB team to reach their full potential.
Their trust paid off when Sanford started as a regular and helped his side finished as runner-up of MPL Philippines Season 10. A few months later, he competed in his first M Series in Indonesia, where he ousted the defending champion, Blacklist International, as the youngest player in the World Championship.
2.KarlTzy became the first Filipino to have won the MLBB World twice
“I want to be the first Filipino player to win the World title twice,” Echo’s Karl “KarlTzy” Gabriel said during a press conference in Jakarta, a day before the grand finals.
During his time with Bren Esports, the seasoned jungler was a hot topic in the MLBB competitive scene after winning MPL Philippines Season 6 in May 2020 and M2 in early 2021. But when KarlTzy decided to join Echo at the end of 2021, he went through some highs and lows in the increasingly competitive Phlippines’ MLBB scene.
Entering 2022, he began to focus more on applying tactical tweaks to improve his game. KarlTzy slowly regained his confidence. He eventually finished as runner-up in MPL Philippines Season 10 and won his second world title in M4 this year with Echo.
3.RRQ Kingdom: loud and proud
As one of the host teams in the M4 competition, RRQ Hoshi got tremendous crowd support when they played at Gelora Bung Karno. And the support was undoubtedly substantial: everytime RRQ Hoshi played, the stadium was packed with thousands of RRQ’s ardent supporters, known as RRQ Kingdom.
The sight of the black and yellow in large numbers was certainly a big surprise for visitors outside of Jakarta who had never seen them before. During the games between RRQ Hoshi and Blacklist in the upper bracket semi-finals of M4, there were at least 5000 Indonesian fans inside the stadium, the vast majority of whom were occupied by Kingdom.
4. A new viewership record for MLBB World Championship
When it comes to MLBB competition, it’s not too much of a stretch to say that the RRQ Hoshi and Blacklist International teams have the most fans right now.
And when these two fans faced each other in M4 online viewing, viewership numbers skyrocketed.
According to Esports Charts reports, the upper bracket semi-final rounds between RRQ Hoshi and Blacklist International has reached a total of 4,268,018 viewers. The biggest numbers of viewership in M Series so far.
5.Mobazane surprised everyone at the World Championship yet again
It’s no secret that Michael “MobaZane” Cosgun was one of the most anticipated players in M4 competition. After all, he is popular for having the loudest trash talk in MLBB competitive scene.
Nonetheless, the jungler who hailed from USA is not just about being loudmouth buffoon: he has a penchant for shutting down fans favorite teams.
MobaZane made his first headline when he faced Blacklist International in the upper bracket quarter finals of M3 as a player of BloodThirstyKing, in January 2022. BTK, which struggled in the group stage at the time, dramatically knocked OHMYV33NUS and friends into the lower bracket.
He made another splash in the M4 tournament with his new squad, The Valley. Thought nearly finished in the bottom of group D, The Valley eventually shocked everyone by eliminating MPL winners from stronger regions, such as Todak (Malaysia) and RRQ Akira (Brazil). MobaZane even had a remarkable performance: he was one of few junglers who rarely got picked off in this competition.
6.Blacklist was on the verge of becoming the M Series’ first back-to-back champion
Blacklist International surprisingly almost ended up in third place in group A during the M4 group stage from January 2nd to 5th. Even though their performance was criticized by the fans, analysts thought they were playing it safe during group stage games while maintaining a close eye on their opponents.
Their suspicions were confirmed. Throughout the upper bracket matches, Blacklist showed their true colors. They defeated formidable opponents like RRQ Hoshi and Akira. They faced Echo in the upper bracket finals and sent them down to the lower bracket.
Blacklist’s outstanding performances at the time prompted many to expect them to become the first M Series team to win back-to-back titles. Unexpectedly, though, Echo, who faced Blacklist again in the grand finals, adjusted their strategy and demolished them in four matches without a reply.
7.Blacklist merch sold out
Many people at the match venue were drawn to the presence of Blacklist International in Jakarta. While naturally they were anticipating the appearance of well-known figures like OHMYV33NUS and Oheb, the official merchandise of Blacklist also caught the attention of visitors, thanks to its appealing designs.
A lot of visitors thought that Blacklist won’t be able to sell half of their goods at first, due to the hefty price tag. Blacklist’s sales reports, however, says otherwise.
In a brief conversation with the general manager of Blacklist International, David Aquino, we found out that their bomber jackets and jerseys with the name tags of OHMYV33NUS, Wise, and Oheb were the highest selling items in the M4 competition. Blacklist eventually sold out of all the stuff they brought to Jakarta even before the grand finals day.
8.Indonesia – Malaysia rivalry continues
It’s no secret that Indonesia and Malaysia have a history of rivalry. And the competition reflects all of this. They were previously known to be bitter rivals in football competitions, and this rivalry has now expanded to esports competitions.
Thousands of Indonesian fans cheered and applauded loudly whenever a Malaysian team got smashed by their opponent at Gelora Bung Karno. The Valley’s victory over Todak in the second round of the lower bracket on January 10th was definitely the loudest. Indonesian fans were shouting at MobaZane and Supershark as they wiped out the entire Todak’s team that day.
