All eyes on Blacklist.
The Southeast Asia season of the Mobile Legends League: Bang Bang will begin this afternoon. Additionally, as previously reported, with the 2023 SEA Games competition in Cambodia slated for next May, the MPL schedule in Southeast Asia are also changing, with the leagues are taking place more intensely than the previous year, particularly in Indonesia and the Philippines.
MPL Philippines, which is entering its eleventh season, is one of the most anticipated leagues among the audiences of the MLBB esports scene worldwide, especially with its status as the home of global champions. And naturally, everyone will pay attention to Blacklist International, the reigning champions who recently overhauled the majority of their MLBB lineup.
Blacklist will begin their new chapter in the MPL Philippines without Oheb, Hadji, and head coach Bon Chan, who have all decided to take a hiatus for Season 11. They then brought in two fresh bloods from the MLBB Philippines amateur competitive scene – Super Red and Yue – and appointed the analyst, Master the Basics, as the temporary replacement for Bon Chan.
The loss of such high-profile players casts doubt on the Blacklist’s odds to defend their title this year. Nonetheless, the expertise and skill of the Blacklist’s seasoned trio – OHMYV33NUS, Wise, and Edward – who are still part of the regular team should not be taken lightly. And with so many changes happening prior to this week, who has the potential to overthrow this ruler of the Philippines from the throne in MPL PH Season 11?
1.Echo Philippines
Audiences all over the world are still reeling from the memorable day in Jakarta on January 16, 2023. Echo Philippines, the MPL PH Season 9 runner-up, crushed Blacklist International’s ambition of becoming the first back-to-back champion in the M4 grand final with a devastating 4-0 victory.
Their victory proved that the Purple Orca was able to adapt and shift their tactics in response to their opponent’s game plan. Furthermore, they appear to have evolved more quickly than their rival, as indicated by their disciplined play during that competition.
Going into MPL PH Season 11 with the same team that won M4 last month, it’s not a stretch to consider Echo as one of the potential winners for this season. Especially with the best wonderkid pair – Alston “Sanji” Pabico and “Sanford” Marin Vinuya – in that team.
2.Bren Esports
The Filipino team Bren Esports could use the morale boost from the MPL PH Season 11 more than any other. Their success plummeted after they won MPL Philippines Season 6 and M2 in 2020. And the problem worsened when they lost their main jungler, KarlTzy, to Echo at the end of 2021.
Beginning in the middle of 2022, Bren changed their lineup and adopted fresh strategies. The outcomes weren’t all that horrible. They finished fourth in the MPL PH Season 10 after losing to RSG Philippines by a slim 3-2 margin in the lower bracket semifinals.
Bren will return to MPL PH Season 11 with the same lineup as last year. The only change made in this team is Vrendon Lin, who was hired as an assistant coach from Bigetron to replace Pauloxpert. Meanwhile, their promising talents like KyleTzy and Super Marco showed improvement during Sibol qualification matches. If Bren can capitalize on this moment, they may be able to dominate again, like in 2020.
3.RSG Slate Philippines
RSG Philippines has recently been in the limelight on the Philippine competition scene as they announced a new partnership with Slate, which was founded by former CEO of Evos, Ivan Yeo. In addition, they have overhauled half of their roster for MPL PH Season 11.
RSG PH, which has since been rebranded RSG Slate Philippines, emerged as an underdog in the Philippines’ MLBB competitive scene. In less than two years since its inception, they have already won MPL Philippines Season 9, MSC Asia Cup 2022, and finished third in MPL PH Season 10.
With half of the lineup currently made up of new players, few expect RSG Slate PH to defeat heavyweight teams like Blacklist or Echo. Nonetheless, their achievements thus far demonstrate that anything is possible in the MPL tournament. Furthermore, they were reinforced by the acquisition of a new coach, Brian “Panda” Im Chang-rok, who once led the Arkangel team as surprise winner in MPL PH Season 3 in 2019.
