MANILA, Philippines – The Philippines’ reign as the king of Mobile Legends is far from over.

AP.Bren defended home turf and disposed of Indonesia’s Onic Esports to reign supreme in the M5 World Championship before a mammoth crowd at the Rizal Memorial Coliseum on Monday, December 18.

Out for vengeance after being relegated to the lower bracket by the same Indonesian squad, AP.Bren outlasted Onic Esports in a nail-biting 4-3 win in the grand finals as the Philippines won its fourth straight world title.

AP.Bren also became the first team to win multiple M-Series crowns nearly three years since its triumph in M2 in Singapore, a victory that started the Philippines’ dominance in Mobile Legends’ flagship tournament.

Blacklist International went on to rule M3 in Singapore in 2021 and Echo topped M4 in Indonesia in 2022.

David “FlapTzy” Canon, a member of the Bren Esports crew that captured the M2 championship, earned the Finals MVP honors for his stellar EXP lane play.

FlapTzy and Angelo “Pheww” Arcangel joined former teammate Karl “KarlTzy” Nepomuceno as the only players to bag multiple world titles.

“My teammates won it for us,” said FlapTzy in Filipino. “I cannot believe it. It feels surreal.”

AP.Bren almost saw the crown slip away when it squandered a 3-1 lead as Onic Esports – led by Filipino star Kairi “Kairi” Rayosdelsol – clinched Games 5 and 6 to drag the best-of-seven series to a sudden death.

But the reigning Mobile Legends Professional League Philippines champion held its nerve, picking its Indonesian rival apart and wrapping up Game 7 in 14 minutes to pocket the top purse of $300,000 (over P16.7 million).

The first team to win the world championship at home soil, AP.Bren redeemed itself from a stinging 3-0 loss to Onic Esports in the upper bracket finals.

In the lower bracket finals, AP.Bren secured its place in the last dance with a 3-0 thrashing of Blacklist International, which settled for third place and $80,000 (nearly P4.5 million).

Onic Esports, coached by Denver “Yeb” Miranda, still raked in $120,000 (over P6.7 million).

Michael “KyleTzy” Sayson, Marco “Super Marco” Requitiano, Rowgien “Owgwen” Unigo, Vincent “Pandora” Unigo also composed AP.Bren, which is mentored by Francis “Ducky” Glindro and Vrendon “Vren” Pesebre.

Ducky won his third world title as a coach, first as part of Indonesia’s EVOS Legends in M1 and then as head coach of Bren Esports in M2.

“My boys have been through a lot,” said Ducky. “I was really confident that they got it. They have it inside of them to perform in front of all those smiling faces.”

After the wild card, 16 teams reached the group stage, including squads from Malaysia, Singapore, Cambodia, Brazil, Saudi Arabia, Russia, Turkey, United States, Myanmar, and Mongolia.

Deus Vult, a team made up of players from Russia, Germany, Norway, and Kazakhstan, placed fourth, while See You Soon netted the best M-Series finish for a Cambodian side at fifth and sixth places with Indonesia’s Geek Fam.

M5 proved to be a success, with the grand finals watched by an M-Series record of over five million peak concurrent viewers according to data provided by Esports Charts.

The M6 will be held in Malaysia, the host of the inaugural edition in 2019, next year. – Rappler.com