Knights claim inaugural NCAA Mobile Legends crown

MANILA, Philippines  — The Colegio de San Juan de Letran Knights etched their name in history as the first-ever NCAA Mobile Legends: Bang Bang (MLBB) Esports champions after toppling the José Rizal University Heavy Bombers, 3-1, in the grand finals held offline last Sunday, July 27, at the Philippine GameDev Expo in SMX Convention Center.

Despite falling to JRU in the upper bracket final, the Knights clawed their way back with a 3-1 win over the Mapúa Cardinals in the lower bracket to force a rematch with Letran in the grand finals.

Learning from their mistakes earlier in the day, the Knights flipped the script in the finals, taking a 2-0 lead in the best-of-five series and dominating the same team that had earlier sent them to the lower bracket.

With their backs against the wall, the Bombers went all out in Game 3, targeting Letran's jungler, John Marcus Loyola, in team fights to get a win on the board and prolong the series.

Game 4 saw the Letran Knights take back the driver seat, outdrafting JRU and winning key team fights and objectives that gave the Knights the win in just under 15 minutes.

The NCAA MLBB tournament was organized in partnership with the Collegiate Center for Esports (CCE), marking a new era for collegiate esports in the Philippines.

“We’d like to thank everyone who helped make this event possible. Matagal na naming pangarap ito para sa mga bata na nangangarap magkaroon ng career sa esports. Basta tuloy lang sila sa pagsikap sa pangarap nila, tuloy lang kami sa pagsuporta,” said Stanley Lao, founder of CCE.