The MPL-Philippines Season 8 was the eight iteration of the Mobile Legends: Bang Bang Professional League (MPL) of the Philippines. The season ran from August 27, 2021, and ended on the conclusion of the Grand Finals on October 24, 2021.[1] Season 8 was the fourth online tournament in MPL Philippines primarily due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
| 2021 | |
| Tournament information | |
|---|---|
| Game | Mobile Legends: Bang Bang |
| Location |  Philippines |
| Dates | August 27–October 24, 2021 |
| Administrator | Moonton |
| Venue(s) |
|
| Teams | 8 |
| Purse | US$150,000 |
| Final positions | |
| Champions | Blacklist International (2nd title) |
| 1st runners-up | ONIC Philippines |
| 2nd runners-up | Smart Omega |
| MVP | Salic "Hadji" Imam (Blacklist International) |
The season was known for its shift to the franchise-based setup system and that numerous franchises would be added on by the league.[2] The season concluded with Blacklist International winning the season's championship defeating ONIC Philippines in the best-of-seven grand final series, 4–1,[3] to win back-to-back MPL championships and becoming the second team to do this in league history. The first to do it was the Sunsparks, winning both titles for Seasons 4 and 5.[4]
Background
editThis season would be the fourth tournament held almost online, except for the Grand Finals which was held offline with no live audience at the World Trade Center, Pasay City. The season saw a dramatic decrease in viewership, obtaining 26.5 million hours watched compared to Season 7's 33 million. This was primarily due to the lost and abandoning of other languages' streams such as the English and Indonesian streams. Furthermore, its peak viewers would rank 3rd all-time with 593,399 peak viewers compared to Season 7's 1.4 million peak viewers and Season 6's 765.9 thousand viewers.[5][better source needed]
The season also served as the Philippine qualifiers for the Mobile Legends: Bang Bang World Championship or known as M3.[6]
Regular season
editFormat
editThe regular season began on August 27, 2021, and ended on October 10, 2021. The regular season was a double round-robin format, with each team plays their opponents twice, for a total of 14 games being played per team. A total of three group stage points may be earned in a single regular season match, based on the following:[7]
- If the match is decided by a 2–0 score, the winner shall earn 3 group stage points, while the loser earns 0 group stage points.
- If the match is decided by a 2–1 score, the winner shall earn 2 group stage points, while the loser earns 1 group stage point.
The top two teams of the standings gained outright qualification to the Upper Bracket Semifinals, while the next four teams qualified for the play-ins.[7]
Standings
edit| Pos | Team | Pld | W | L | MF | MA | MD | Pts | Qualification |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Blacklist International | 14 | 13 | 1 | 26 | 7 | +19 | 34 | Qualified for the Upper Bracket Semifinals |
| 2 | ONIC Philippines | 14 | 9 | 5 | 21 | 13 | +8 | 27 | |
| 3 | Nexplay EVOS | 14 | 7 | 7 | 18 | 16 | +2 | 23 | Qualified for the Play-ins |
| 4 | Smart Omega | 14 | 5 | 9 | 15 | 18 | −3 | 20 | |
| 5 | ECHO Philippines | 14 | 6 | 8 | 15 | 18 | −3 | 19 | |
| 6 | RSG Philippines | 14 | 7 | 7 | 15 | 19 | −4 | 17 | |
| 7 | Bren Esports | 14 | 5 | 9 | 12 | 21 | −9 | 14 | Eliminated |
| 8 | TNC Pro Team | 14 | 4 | 10 | 10 | 20 | −10 | 14 |
Playoffs
editFormat
editThe top 6 teams at the end of regular season qualified for the playoffs. All of the playoff teams after the season were invited for the 2021 ONE Esports Invitationals, with the champion gaining outright quarterfinal slot.[9]
The playoffs will follow a two-elimination series at the beginning and would follow a double-elimination tournament where the upper-bracket losers will descend to the lower-bracket. Playoff games would be a best-of-five tournament and the grand finals would be a best-of-seven matchup.[10]
Venues
editThe six matches of the playoffs were cast at the MPL Arena Games and were held online. The final two matches, the lower bracket final and the Grand Finals, took place at World Trade Center, Pasay City and were held with no live audience.[11]
Bracket
edit| Play-ins | Upper Bracket Semifinals | Upper Bracket Final | Grand Final | |||||||||||||||
| October 22, 2021 – Bo5 | ||||||||||||||||||
| October 21, 2021 – Bo5 | 2 | ONIC Philippines | 3 | |||||||||||||||
| 3 | Nexplay EVOS | 3 | 3 | Nexplay EVOS | 0 | October 23, 2021 – Bo5 | ||||||||||||
| 6 | RSG Philippines | 0 | 2 | ONIC Philippines | 3 | |||||||||||||
| October 22, 2021 – Bo5 | 4 | Smart Omega | 0 | |||||||||||||||
| October 21, 2021 – Bo5 | 1 | Blacklist International | 1 | |||||||||||||||
| 4 | Smart Omega | 3 | 4 | Smart Omega | 3 | |||||||||||||
| October 24, 2021 – Bo7 | ||||||||||||||||||
| 5 | ECHO Philippines | 1 | ||||||||||||||||
| 2 | ONIC Philippines | 1 | ||||||||||||||||
| 1 | Blacklist International | 4 | ||||||||||||||||
| Lower Bracket Semifinal | Lower Bracket Final | |||||||||||||||||
| October 24, 2021 – Bo5 | ||||||||||||||||||
| October 23, 2021 – Bo5 | 4 | Smart Omega | 1 | |||||||||||||||
| 3 | Nexplay EVOS | 0 | 1 | Blacklist International | 3 | |||||||||||||
| 1 | Blacklist International | 3 | ||||||||||||||||
Play-ins
editPlay-ins are a best-of-5 series, the winners advanced to the Upper Bracket Semifinals, the losers were eliminated.
| Team 1 | Series | Team 2 | Game 1 | Game 2 | Game 3 | Game 4 | Game 5 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| (#3) Nexplay EVOS | 3–0 | (#6) RSG Philippines | NXPE | NXPE | NXPE | ||
| (#4) Omega Esports | 3–1 | (#5) ECHO Philippines | OMG | ECHO | OMG | OMG |
Upper Bracket Semifinals
editWinners advanced to the Upper Bracket Final, losers were relegated to the Lower Bracket Semifinals.
| Team 1 | Series | Team 2 | Game 1 | Game 2 | Game 3 | Game 4 | Game 5 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
(#2) ONIC Philippines
|
3–0 | (#3) Nexplay EVOS | ONIC | ONIC | ONIC | ||
| 1–3 | (#4) Omega Esports | BLCK | OMG | OMG | OMG |
Lower Bracket Semifinals
editAn eliminator match. Winner advanced to the Lower Bracket Final.
| Team 1 | Series | Team 2 | Game 1 | Game 2 | Game 3 | Game 4 | Game 5 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
(#3) Nexplay EVOS
|
0–3 | (#1) Blacklist International | BLCK | BLCK | BLCK |
Upper Bracket Finals
editWinner advanced to the Grand Final and qualified for M3 World Championships, while loser was relegated to the Lower Bracket Final.
| Team 1 | Series | Team 2 | Game 1 | Game 2 | Game 3 | Game 4 | Game 5 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
(#2) ONIC Philippines
|
3–0 | (#4) Omega Esports | ONIC | ONIC | ONIC |
Lower Bracket Finals
editAn eliminator match. Winner advanced to the Grand Finals, and qualified for the M3 World Championships.
Venue: World Trade Center, Pasay City
| Team 1 | Series | Team 2 | Game 1 | Game 2 | Game 3 | Game 4 | Game 5 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
(#4) Omega Esports
|
1–3 | (#1) Blacklist International | BLCK | BLCK | OMG | BLCK |
Grand Finals
editGrand Finals were a best-of-seven series, both finalists represented the Philippines for the M3 World Championships.
Venue: World Trade Center, Pasay City
| Team 1 | Series | Team 2 | Game 1 | Game 2 | Game 3 | Game 4 | Game 5 | Game 6 | Game 7 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
(#2) ONIC Philippines
|
1–4 | (#1) Blacklist International | BLCK | ONIC | BLCK | BLCK | BLCK |
Awards
editIndividual awards
edit| Award | Recipient |
|---|---|
| Best Rookie of the Season | Demonkite (RSG Philippines)[12] |
| Regular Season MVP | Hadji (Blacklist International)[13] |
| Playoff MVP | Hadji (Blacklist International)[14] |
Team of the Season
edit| Player | Position | Team |
|---|---|---|
| EDWARD | Exp-lane | Blacklist International |
| Kairi | Jungle | ONIC Philippines |
| OhMyV33Nus | Mid-lane | Blacklist International |
| OHEB | Gold lane | |
| Hadji | Roamer |
Source:[15]
References
edit- ^ Vistek. "Schedule – Mobile Legends: Bang Bang Professional League Philippines". ph-mpl.com. Retrieved December 23, 2021.
- ^ Coloma, Angela (July 14, 2021). "Mobile Legends: MPL-PH shifts to 'franchise-based' setup ahead of Season 8". ABS-CBN News. Retrieved December 23, 2021.
- ^ "Mobile Legends: Blacklist International crowned as the champions of MPL-PH Season 8". GamingonPhone. October 24, 2021. Retrieved December 23, 2021.
- ^ INQUIRER.net. "Sunsparks Becomes Back to Back MLBB Champions in MPL-PH S5". esports.inquirer.net. Retrieved December 23, 2021.
- ^ "MPL PH Season 8 / Statistics".
- ^ "Every team qualified for the M3 World Championship". ONE Esports. October 19, 2021. Retrieved December 23, 2021.
- ^ a b "Rules of Mobile Legends: Bang Bang Professional League (Philippines)". MPL. Retrieved December 31, 2021.
- ^ Gahlyan, Ravi (July 21, 2021). "MPL PH Season 8 Result". AFK Gaming. Retrieved December 23, 2021.
- ^ Lojo, Michelle (October 30, 2021). "ONE Esports forges partnerships ahead of MLBB Invitational". Philstar.com. Retrieved December 26, 2021.
- ^ Vistek. "MPL PH Season 8 playoffs are set – Mobile Legends: Bang Bang Professional League Philippines". ph-mpl.com. Retrieved January 24, 2022.
- ^ Magallon, Reynald (October 24, 2021). "Season 8 Finale marks MPL PH return to offline event after 2 years". Manila Bulletin. Retrieved December 31, 2021.
- ^ Trilles, Calvin (October 31, 2021). "Demonkite, itinanghal na MPL PH Season 8 Best Rookie". ONE Esports (in Tagalog). Retrieved December 23, 2021.
- ^ Coloma, Angela (October 20, 2021). "Mobile Legends: Hadji is MPL S8's regular season MVP". ABS-CBN News. Retrieved December 23, 2021.
- ^ Siasat, J. M. "Hadji rises, emerges as Season 8 MVP". Daily Tribune. Retrieved December 23, 2021.
- ^ "MPL Philippines – Sila Kairi., OHEB (Kiel Gaming), Edward., Ohmyv33nus, at HAD JI ang bumubuo sa #MPLPH S8 Team of the Season!". Facebook. Retrieved December 23, 2021.[self-published]