Upsets, tension mark MPL Philippines Season 14 opener

MANILA, Philippines – The Mobile Legends Bang Bang Professional League (MPL) Philippines returned with a bang for its 14th season, with new team Aurora soaring to the top of the standings and Smart Omega shutting down doubters with a clean sheet in opening week.

Aurora swept both of its matches over the weekend against Blacklist International and RSG Philippines, securing the top seed after Week 1 with two points and a 4-0 game standing. 

Also at two points is Smart Omega, which won against TNC, 2-0, and upset reigning world champion Falcons AP.Bren, 2-1; and Fnatic ONIC Philippines, which also swept TNC, 2-0, and survived Blacklist International, 2-1. Both teams have two points and a 4-1 game standing.

Reigning MPL champion Team Liquid Philippines won its opener against RSG Philippines to place fourth; while Falcons AP.Bren sits at fifth with a lone defeat, having played only one match over the weekend.

Blacklist International and RSG Philippines are tied at sixth place, having lost both of their matches, but secured a game to stay ahead of TNC Pro Team, which wasn't able to secure a game win during the opening weekend.

Tension outside the Land of Dawn

Besides the matches happening inside the MPL arena, back and forth exchanges between Aurora and Blacklist International made headlines over the weekend.

This after Aurora's captain, Renejay “Renejay” Barcase and Blacklist International's Julius "Banoobs" Mariano exchanged statements.

It all started during the preseason conference when Mariano said that Blacklist International would not be welcoming back any of their former players even with the open-transfer system in play.

"For us, me personally, honestly no. Kasi what we start is we've been through the process. We've been hurt, we've been healed, and now we're ready for war. There's no turning back from this. Laban kami kung laban pero if there's an opportunity na babalik, yung door is not yet closed pero parang ex lang e. Babalikan mo ba?"

After their win against Blacklist International, Barcase was asked for his comment on the statement, and the Aurora roamer didn't mince his words. 

"Una, hindi ko pa po nakakasama si Banoobs, so hindi ko po talaga siya kilala. So kung nasaktan man po siya, wala po siyang karapatan na masaktan kasi hindi naman po siya yung ano hindi naman po siya yung kasama naming nung time na yon and 'yung CEO naming si Boss Tryke nag usap po kami. Sabi niya lagi pong bukas ang pinto para sa amin so kung ako mas kukuha ng lakas ng loob kay Boss Tryke," said Barcase.

Mariano then took to social media, jokingly introducing himself to Barcase and mentioning his credentials, to which the entire esports community then copied as a trend over the weekend.

But in a now-deleted comment, Mariano alleged that Aurora had poached former Minana EVOS player Jan "Domeng" Delmundo even though MPL Philippines had said that Aurora complied with the league's anti-poaching rules.

As the opening weekend of MPL Philippines concluded, Mariano said that everything had been part of a plan to hype up the season, and that he would now be focusing on the team moving forward.

"Kayo na muna [ang] bahala kung ano gusto nyo isipin, focus muna ako sa team, hindi na pwede matalo pa," Mariano posted on Facebook.

The regular season continues Friday, August 23, at 5 p.m., with TNC Pro Team versus Team Liquid PH followed by Smart Omega against Blacklist International.