The third season of the MLBB Professional League Invitational (MPLI) saw an All Indonesia Final for the first time in history. Onic Esports, the champion of MPL ID Season 10, overturned their defeat and marked another victory in a major Mobile Legends competition against the unexpected finalist, Geek Fam.
Onic and Geek both faced difficult opponents prior to the grand final. Geeks had to go through tough opponents, facing the likes of RRQ Sena, RSG Philippines, and the reigning Philippines champion, Blacklist. On the other hand, despite benefitting from the longer preparation time, Onic, who started from the quarter-finals, faced Bren Esports and Todak, who are famous for making life difficult for Indonesian teams in international competition.
The finals turned out to be a David versus Goliath one, an entertaining end to a weekend of games.
All Indonesia Final
While most fans believed Onic would sweep Geek, it was the underdogs that drew first blood. Geek’s Cadeera was successful in confounding Onic players with Bruno throughout the Game One. And even though they were behind in gold for large parts of the game, Geek seized Lord for the third time and sealed the victory in the first game.
Geek once again dominated in Game Two. Onic was struggling to cope with Cadeera’s Beatrix and Jaanaqt’s Alucard. Through effective collaboration, Geek was able to breach through Onic’s defense and finished the game in less than 18 minutes.
With two games down, Onic decided to bet on an aggressive draft pick, locking on Gusion and Fredrinn. Meanwhile, Geek relied on Beatrix once again.
The draft pick proved to be the catalyst for Onic’s comeback in this round. Kairi’s Gusion continued to harass Geek’s players. Geek had no answer against Gusion as Onic finished Game Three with victory in the 15th minute.
The comeback was on. And the champions saw a way back in. Onic included Gusion for their lineup again in Game Four. Geek took Fredrinn and Hayabusa to counter Onic’s aggression. It was a repeat of game three as Kairi’s Gusion roamed the map and Onic won it again in the 15th minute.
Realized how Onic had quickly caught up to them, Geek cranked up the pressure in the decisive round. They picked Fanny, Fredrinn, and Beatrix while Onic decided to go for a surprise, picking up Chou for Kairi and Gusion for Drian.
Onic’s unusual draft pick proved effective against Geek’s aggressiveness. Jaanaqt’s Fanny was able to move freely but unable to do much as Kairi’s off-meta hero was surprisingly powerful. Seeing Geek unable to keep up with teamfight, Onic swiftly ended the match in the 13th minute.
This victory marked the yellow hedgehog as back-to-back MPLI champion after winning it last year against the Blacklist. Given how impressive their run in MPLI and MPL ID Season 10, it’s safe to say that every team will keep an eye on Kairi and company.
