Oheb is not the same person he was four years ago, and he’s sure to show it this MSC.
A lot can happen in the four years since the last time Team Liquid’s Oheb appeared in the Mid Season Cup, least of all the name of the tournament itself.
The first and last time Kiel “Oheb” Q.Soriano appeared in MSC was in 2021. Back then, it was still called the MLBB Southeast Asia Cup before the name change last year to align with it becoming a more global tournament. That was also Oheb’s first year playing professionally, debuting with Blacklist International and kickstarting their legendary pro scene dominance.
“Sobrang ibang feeling kasi noong nakaraan, MSC lang,” said Team Liquid’s Oheb. “Ngayon may [Esports World Cup] tapos yung first MSC ko online lang siya, so hindi ko masyadong dama.”
2021 was still in the throes of the COVID-19 pandemic, so there was no live audience to cheer Oheb on. Now MSC is bigger than ever, and Oheb couldn’t have picked a better time to come back. “This time mas-exciting siya. Sobrang excited talaga ako maglaro dito sa Riyadh.”
Growth From Experience
Oheb has gone through a lot in those four years between his appearances. He won the MPL PH again and went on to M3 to become a world champion in 2021. He would win the MPL PH one more time before hitting one of the most difficult points of his career from 2022 onwards. Then he would make a resurgence with Team Liquid, taking his fourth MPL PH trophy and qualifying for MSC 2025.
“Yung biggest difference between MSC 2021 at ngayon is mas-mature ngayon ako,” reflects Team Liquid’s Oheb. “Mas-iniisip ko din lahat ng ginagawa ko, di tulad dati. Kung anong unang naisip ko, yung lang ginagawa ko.”
And with that maturity comes the confidence to win the whole tournament. Oheb fell short with Blacklist in 2021, losing to Execration in the grand finals. The Philippines overall has fallen short of achieving MSC glory since our last trophy was in 2023.
This time Oheb feels it’ll be different, especially now that the Philippines is considered to be the best MLBB region in the world.
“Last EWC, medyo mas-malakas yung ibang regions kasi mas-nauna sila sa meta. This time, lahat ng mga teams pantay-pantay sa meta so pagalingan nalang sa micro at macro. So tingin ko mas-mataas talaga yung chance natin makuha yung trophy ngayon.”
Banner photo from Mobile Legends Esports and Kiel Gaming.