It’s a historic, storybook ending for The Hive.
The ground shook and the fans roared as AP.Bren crowned themselves as the M5 World Champions. Rizal Memorial Coliseum lit up like fireworks when AP.Bren triumphed over ONIC Esports in one of the closest best-of-seven grand finals series of the year.
It was a grand final that lived up to the hype and more. It’s the two strongest teams from the two strongest regions, both riding on a year full of success and glory. For ONIC, they are Indonesia’s undisputed Sky Kings, winning every major Mobile Legends tournament and league they’ve entered. For AP.Bren, they’ve been on a veritable world tour of international Mobile Legends events, winning gold in both the SEA Games and IESF World Championship.
Both teams were practically fated to clash to see which one can truly call themselves Mobile Legends champions. And what better stage than the M5 grand finals? This was called into doubt when AP.Bren suffered a shocking 0-3 loss against ONIC in the upper bracket finals. However, the team quickly recovered, defeating Blacklist International 3-0 in the lower bracket finals.
Hungry for revenge, AP.Bren came out swinging and managed to get a 3-1 game lead. ONIC dug deep and were able to close the gap to bring themselves to final game seven. Ultimately the Sky Kings were denied their mythical golden road as AP.Bren takes the championship 4-3.
History made, legacies established
With AP.Bren becoming the M5 champions, they have broken the self-explanatory “host country curse”. They are also now the first team to become repeating world champions after previously winning the title back in 2021. Only three members of that roster remained and each earned their own accolades on top of being two-time world champions.
David “FlapTzy” Canon won the M5 grand finals MVP, complementing his MPL PH finals MVP award earlier this year. Angelo “Pheww” Arcangel is also a two-time SEA Games gold medalist to go along with his second world championship. And last but not least, coach Francis “Ducky” Glindro was inducted into the MPL PH Hall of Legends this year in recognition for his achievements as a coach.
From Cambodia, to Romania, to back home in the Philippines, AP.Bren completed their world tour with a picturesque conclusion. It was a year full of challenges but it ended in triumph for the boys in black and yellow.
Banner photo by Moonton Games.
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