MANILA, Philippines – The Philippines’ two teams got off to a promising start in the M5 Mobile Legends World Championship as they won their first matches over the weekend at the EVM Convention Center in Quezon City.

AP.Bren coasted a 2-0 triumph over Myanmar’s Burmese Ghouls in Group C on Saturday, December 2, while Blacklist International scored a similar 2-0 victory over Brazil’s RRQ Akira in Group B on Sunday.

The pair of wins give the two Filipino squads some headway as only two of the four teams in each of the four groups will advance to the knockout stage.

Both AP.Bren and Blacklist are eyeing their second world titles.

AP.Bren ruled M2 in Singapore in January 2021 when it still competed as Bren Esports, while Blacklist International reigned in M3 in the same country in December 2021.

Hosting Mobile Legends’ global showdown for the first time, the Philippines aims to win a fourth straight world championship, with Echo – another Filipino team – topping M4 last year.

Standing in the way of AP.Bren and Blacklist International are 14 other squads from Indonesia, Malaysia, Singapore, Brazil, Cambodia, Saudi Arabia, Turkey, Russia, Myanmar, United States, and Mongolia.

The M5 winner will pocket the top purse of $300,000 (over P16.5 million). – Rappler.com