COLUMN: Selangor Red Giant's victory the end of the PH era?

MANILA, Philippines - Mobile Legends Bang Bang (MLBB) held its fifth world championship in the Philippines last December, wherein Filipino team, now Falcons AP.Bren, won the title for the second time and was the first ever team to break the host-country curse as they won in front of the home crowd.

In those five world championships, the Philippines has won four out of the five championships with Indonesia being the other region having a world title (having won the first M-series back in 2019).

In terms of the Mid-Season Cup (MSC), then the Southeast Asia Cup, only three regions have won, Thailand's "I DO NOT SLEEP" during the first MSC in 2017, Indonesia's ONIC Esports having won twice in 2019 and 2023, while the Philippines against has the most MSC titles with three, having won in 2018 with Aether Main, 2021 with Execration and 2022 with RSG Philippines.

Seven years of competitive MLBB and it's been the same regions always being considered the power house or tournament favorites.

But as MLBB ushers in a new era, we see a new dawn approaching. The rise of the once forgotten regions in Southeast Asia and the up and coming stars all over the globe.

This year's MSC during the Esports World Cup deviated from the MLBB results we usually see. Indonesian teams ONIC Esports and EVOS Glory, as well as Brazil's RRQ Akira saw early exits in the group stages with previously forgotten regions, Singapore, Cambodia and Malaysia all basked in the spotlight.

Malaysia's Selangor Red Giants then made history by winning the country's first international MLBB title, defeating reigning world champions Falcons AP Bren, 4-3, in the grand finals last Sunday, July 14.

PHOTO: MOONTON Games

The Shift of Team Compositions

Like many esports professional leagues, there is always that maiden period wherein organizations field a team composed of the same nationalities. The trend was seen at the start of the esports competitive scene with the likes of Counter Strike, Dota2, and League of Legends.

But as the professional leagues grew, so did the diversity of team compositions. A trend that Mobile Legends Bang Bang joined back in 2022 when Filipino players started exploring opportunities outside of their comfort zones.

With Filipinos landing teams across Southeast Asia, the competitive scene started to shift.

ONIC Esports in Indonesia saw Filipino jungler Kairi "Kairi" Rayosdelsol and Filipino coach Paul "Yeb" Miranda made waves in the Indonesian professional league, breaking records with multiple win and championship streaks for the team.

Cambodia's See You Soon saw it's highest placement in an M-Series championship last M5 at fourth place with the help of Filipino jungler Michael "MP the King" Endino and Filipino jungler Clarense "Kousei" Camilo.

Filipinos also started being the most represented country in MLBB tournaments. M4 saw the top six teams having a Filipino presence (either a player or a coach) with the top four teams all being coached by a Filipino.

It was the same trend moving forward, culminating in the recent MSC with 41 Filipinos competing in the tournament. By the Knockout stages, there was only one team left without any Filipino presence, while the remaining seven all either had a Filipino coach or player or both.

PHOTO: Esports World Cup

The end of the PH era?

With Malaysia's win in MSC, many are raising the question if it is the end of the PH era?

It all boils down to how do we define the PH era?

If we define the PH era as an all Filipino team winning an MLBB tournament? Then yes, we can say that it is the end of the PH era. Because what makes a good team? One that is fueled by experience from one source or by a composition with a diverse culture and mindset?

Looking into the recent MSC, the era of a team being composed by a single nationality is no longer the ideal composition for MLBB, a shift that many esports titles before MLBB saw themselves.

MLBB is heading into a new era, an era where diversity in team composition is going to be the norm, wherein different cultures and ideas are going to be the advantage.

This is where the other definition of the PH era comes in an era of Filipinos reinventing the regions they land on and changing how MLBB is played.

Out of the 12 regional leagues leading into the MSC, ten regional champions had a Filipino in their roster or coaching staff. Counting the wild card teams, 18 out of 23 teams have Filipinos.

Many were disappointed when Filipino teams Team Liquid ECHO and Falcons AP.Bren met at the MSC semi-finals because it meant that there would be a possibility that a Filipino won't be champion. But Malaysia's Selangor Red Giants have three Filipinos (two players and a coach) on their team, shouldn't fans consider this a win for Filipinos as well?

It's more poetic that the win happened in front of a crowd of Overseas Filipino Workers (OFW) in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia as what else are our Filipino MLBB imports but OFWs themselves.

PHOTO: MPL Philippines

The Dawn of a New Era

So where is MLBB esports heading?

In this age of continued patch updates and meta changes, MLBB is heading into a new era, moving past just country pride but specific to professional organization goals, something that is already seen in traditional sports who look at players' nationality with a blind eye and is focused on player talent.

It no longer is about having an all-this team or a pure-country team because if organizations are stuck in this mindset then they will get left behind.

This new era of MLBB is combining the global perspective of the game, embracing a diverse team culture and game play...with our Filipino imports leading the charge.

Filipinos started this winning trend as they left the Philippines to pursue MLBB opportunities around the globe, changing the game in whatever region they land. And from the looks of it, Filipinos are just getting started.

The thing about Filipinos, whether as an MLBB athlete or as an OFW hoping for greener pastures abroad, there is always that sense of camaraderie. Wherever Filipinos land, they will always make friends, earn people's trust, build relations that will last, and these are exactly what MLBB players use in building a winning team.

I ask again, where is MLBB esports heading?

It's heading to M6 in Malaysia at the end of the year, and it's going to see more Filipinos across different regions, maybe even all M6 teams, directly qualified or wild card teams all having a Filipino in their roster.