Falcons Academy books MCT SEA berth with breakthrough MDL PH title
MANILA, Philippines — Team Falcons finally has a championship to show for its patience as its academy team captured the Mobile Legends Development League (MDL) Philippines Season 8 title after defeating Team Fuego, 4-1, in the Grand Finals last Friday at the SM Southmall Events Center. The squad thus secured both the trophy and a coveted spot in the upcoming Mobile Legends: Bang Bang Championship Tour Southeast Asia (MCT SEA).
For an academy team that had never advanced beyond the opening playoff round since entering MDL Philippines in Season 5, the victory marked a long-awaited breakthrough.
Falcons Academy asserted its dominance from the opening game, crushing Team Fuego, 21-6, in just 16 minutes on Healing Turtle while preventing its opponents from taking a single turret.
The momentum carried over in Game 2 as Falcons Academy needed only 10 minutes to destroy Team Fuego's base on Flying Clouds for a 2-0 series lead. They followed it up with a 15-5 victory in Game 3 on Revealing Wisps, again preserving all of their structures to move within a win of the championship.
Facing elimination, Team Fuego finally found an answer in Game 4, mounting a late-game surge that wiped out four Falcons players before pushing through the base to keep the series alive.
But any hopes of a reverse sweep were short-lived.
The deciding game remained tightly contested until the 23rd minute, when a clash around the Lord ultimately swung the series. With Team Fuego losing two players in the engagement, Falcons Academy capitalized on the advantage and marched down the middle lane to end the series.
Roamer Lawrence "Lawrencio" Balbuena took home Finals MVP honors after averaging 2.2 kills, 1.8 deaths and 13.4 assists per game throughout the series.
With MCT SEA next on the horizon, Balbuena said the team is embracing its role as one of the Philippines' representatives on the regional stage.
"Doble effort po yung gagawin namin ngayon nakapasok kami sa MCT SEA. Di lang po ito laban naming, laban rin po ito ng Pilipinas," said Lawrencio.
Despite the step-up in competition, Falcons Academy is confident it can adapt against the region's best and continue the Philippines' reputation as Mobile Legends' strongest region.
"Nakaka-scrim naman naming yung ibang teams sa ibang bansa. Makaka-adjust naman kami. Nage-expect talaga na pag PH, malakas talaga kaya ibibigay talaga namin yung best naming na ipagpatuloy yun sa MCT," said Falcons Academy coach Eds Dro.
MCT SEA will take place from December 9-13 at ICONSIAM in Bangkok, Thailand. The tournament's top two teams will secure direct slots to the M8 World Championship, while the third- and fourth-place finishers will have another path to the world stage through the wildcard qualifier.
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