Jesslie Yu || Photo Credit: Manila Bulletin

With the Philippines as host, local teams AP. Bren and Blacklist International started their run in the M5 Mobile Legends World Championship with dominance as they won their first matches on the initial phase of the group stage at the EVM Convention Center, Quezon City.

Both teams swept their opponents, 2-0, as AP. Bren took down Myanmar’s Burmese Ghouls in Group C on Saturday, December 2, and Blacklist International demolished Brazil’s RRQ Akira in Group B on Sunday, December 3. 

AP. Bren Purges Burmese Ghouls in M5 Campaign

AP.Bren displayed their mastery in macro-mechanics against Burmese Ghouls to kick off their M5 World Championship group stage campaign victorious at the EVM Convention Center, Quezon City on December 2.

The prowess of AP.Bren in team fight was displayed in the last moments of the game with Michael “KyleTzy” Sayson leading the pack by bursting the Ghouls’ damage dealers to secure the lord and win the match.

“They are like a bunch of beasts whenever we play them but right now, the Ghouls are shaky. They had a long-haul flight so that’s hard on their bodies. I hope they can regain their composure moving forward.” AP.Bren head coach Francis “Duckey” Glindro said.

Burmese Ghouls established superiority in the early game with their lineup due to the high pick-off capability of BlinX’s Kaja and securing the early objectives; getting two turtles and a tower compared to nothing from Bren. 

However, as the game cruised on, the Hives saw an opening to reverse the gold lead of the Ghouls with the jungler Kyletzy securing the third turtle and Super Marco getting his core items to dominate the latter part of the match eventually.

Even with the dominance of Bren, the Ghouls managed to pull off a heist with their resilience, taking the fourth lord and leaving their opponents at the edge in their attempt to end the match. 

Turning the tides in their favor, AP.Bren regained full control during the final moments of the match with their specialty in team fighting and their successful take of the fifth lord to crush the Ghouls and go home with a win.

The rivalry between the two teams dates back to 2020, when AP Bren, then called Bren Esports, defeated the Burmese Ghouls in a do-or-die game 7 to be hailed as the M2 World Champions. Until today, the Ghouls still seek to win a series against the MPL- PH Champions, AP Bren.

Blacklist International Sweeps RRQ Akira in Dominant Display

Blacklist International swiftly broke the code to take out Brazil’s RRQ Akira on the Day 2 of the M5 World Championship group stage at the EVM Convention Center, Quezon City on December 3, Sunday.

Renejay “Renejay” Bacarse unleashed his inner OhMyVeenus as he picked the Blacklist signature hero Estes to serve as the walking fountain, countering the burst heroes of the Akiras and securing the victory. 

“What we’ve shown today is that we’re really in our tournament mode and I’m excited to show more of what we have,” Renejay said.

RRQ Akira showed off strong early in the game as they were able to set the tempo for turtle fights in order to secure the objective three times.

However, Blacklist International quickly reversed the pace as they invested their rotation on the gold lane for Kiel “Oheb” Q.Soriano’s Bruno to snowball and get their late-game insurance. 

With Blacklist slowly chipping down their turrets, RRQ Akira was able to successfully hold their base despite the back-to-back attempts of Blacklist in ending the game with two successive lords. 

Putting the final nail in the coffin, Blacklist’s dominance in lord dance made them obtain the fourth lord and seal the game over the Brazilian team in perfect synchronization.

Due to the impressive start, both Filipino teams earned an early advantage in the knockout stage. Blacklist International are looking to bounce back with their loss against AP.Bren in the finals of MPL- PH as they try to conquer the M5 title to restore their dynasty.

As the M5 kicks off, the Philippines is eyeing to get its fourth straight world championship title with both AP. Bren and Blacklist aiming to get their second title for their squad, respectively. AP. Bren, then called Bren Esports, conquered the M2 in Singapore in January 2021, while Blacklist International triumphed over the M3 in the same country last December 2021.