ECHO won’t be defending title at the M5 World Championship

In a major disappointment well before the M5 World Championship, the defending world champions, ECHO, have failed to qualify for the tournament. ECHO, were one of the favorites to take home the MPL Philippines title faltered in the Playoffs Stage and were knocked out by arch-rivals Blacklist International.

ECHO will not be defending its M5 World Championship title

The team, composed of Sanford, KarlTzy, Sanji, Bennyqt, Yawi, and Jaypee, have been on fire in 2023. After winning the M4 World Championship, against Blacklist International in the Finals only, the team went on to be crowned the champions of the MPL Philippines Season 11 as well.

On top of this, they placed third in the MSC 2023 and achieved fourth place in the Snapdragon Pro Series SEA Finals.

Thus, they came into Season 12 of the MPL Philippines as a favorite to take home the trophy. They started off the season on a very strong note, topping the regular season with a score of 11-3.

The Playoffs Stage didn’t go according to their plans, though. They started off in the Upper Bracket Semifinal against Blacklist International, who knocked them down to the Lower Bracket. ECHO were able to set a rematch with Blacklist, though, after winning their lower bracket match.

This time as well, though, Blacklist came out on top to knock the defending world champions out of the MPL Philippines and the M5 World Championship.

This isn’t the first time in the history of the MLBB M World Championships that a defending world champion won’t play in the next edition. EVOS Legends, the inaugural M1 World Champions, failed to qualify for the M2 in 2020.

The M5 World Championship will happen from Nov. 23 to Dec. 17 as 22 teams from around the world compete for the title and a share of the $900,000 prize pool.

Redemption arc for AP Bren

AP Bren, previously known as Bren Esports, are the team which eventually became the Season 12 Filipino champions. Since the M1 edition, all M World Championships have been won by a team from the Philippines, making them one of the favorites to defend the honor for the country.

Bren were once the M2 World Champions in 2020 but failed to qualify for the next two editions on the back of some terrible performances. These were further highlighted as the former CEO of the organization, Bernard Chong, was put in the public eye when Filipino authorities announced that he was wanted for importing illegal drugs. Chong was later cleared of all charges in 2023. Bren was then bought by Aces Pro Corp and changed its name to AP Bren.

Now, the team have won the MPL Philippines for the first time since Season 6 and their second time overall.

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