With barely a week to go before Mobile Legends: Bang-Bang Professional League officially starts; drama has been brewing for a lot of teams and players – especially for those surrounding Aurora and Blacklist International.
At the recent kickoff event, Julius “Banoobs” Mariano, newly minted Blacklist International’s Head of MLBB Operations parted some choice words for ex-Agents who are now with the new Serbian-backed team, Aurora.
“We’ve been hurt, we’ve been healed. . . and now, we’re ready [for] war”
This was after JM Siasat of Daily Tribune asked Banoobs if they’re willing to take back ex-Blacklist International personalities should they wish to return to the organization some time in the future. Julius “Banoobs” Mariano likens the experience to an Ex-relationship.
“Parang Ex yan eh, diba? Babalikan mo (pa) ba?”
The new Aurora Gaming team is headlined by industry veterans and esport superstars “Edward” Dapadap, Kenneth “Yue” Tadeo, and Renejay “Renejay” Barcase — all former Blacklist International members. Aside from this, 2 from the former organization’s coaches are also with Aurora now namely Aniel “Master The Basics” Jiandani and Dexter Louise “DEXTAR” Alaba.
If you think the drama ends with the new teams, you’re sorely mistaken.
New Tournament Rules
In previous MPL PH tournaments, each team secures points for every match they win. That’s not the case for Season 14. Similar to recent MPL ID rules teams need to win in order to secure slots for the playoffs. 1 point will be awarded per win especially for best of 3 games. A 2-0 or 2-1 win means 1 point while a 0-2, 1-2 lose will net respective teams with zero points. Teams will need to give it their all even before the playoffs start.
A new tournament bracket update will also give those from the Lower Bracket more chances to win their way up as the Lower Bracket Finals will change from a Best-of-Five match to a Best-of-Seven. This helps ensure that the season picks the best of the best to go toe-to-toe for the Grand Championship after 8 weeks.
Additionally, the Global Transfer System will be implemented across all teams. This system will allow teams to swap players or import players from other MPL regions during the course of the games. This is definitely going to shake the entire tournament up and we can’t wait to see which teams make full use of these changes to their advantage.
FANsiklaban and other Activities
As if Season 14 isn’t heated enough, MPL PH is making things extra spicy for their fans. For one, Infinix Philippines will host the very first FANsiklaban where MLBB fans can prove their skills in game as they play against their fellow fans. Season 14 also brings back MPL Smart Battle Trips an initiative where MLBB communities from cities, schools, or workplaces will be invited to visit the MPL PH arena and experience the action first-hand. Aside from this, more activities will happen on-ground like the Infinix Experience Zone where fans with their Infinix Phones can get exclusive perks and privileges.
MPL PH Season 14 regular season is happening from August 16 to October 6 at the Green Sun Hotel, Makati and tickets are currently on sale.
For more information, head over to MPL PH’s official site.
Additional reporting by John Christian Deada