Over 1,000 teams registered for the Mobile Legends Professional League MY/SG (MPL-MY/SG) Season 3 and four teams have now secured spots in the MPL Regular Season after two weeks of intense qualifiers. Team ICON MY, Mysterious Assassin (MYA) and Xpax X-Assins are the qualifying teams from Malaysia, while MPL debutant NARA Esports is Singapore’s qualifying team. They join the six directly invited teams in the Regular Season which kicks of 1 March.
The Qualifying Teams
Team MYA is back after a strong run in Season 1 where they came out third. A major roster change made them ineligible for a direct invite into Season 2, and a poor showing in the qualifiers saw their run end prematurely. However, MYA is back this season with the likes of Shadow, Flint, and Kucing Gebu in their line-up.
On the other hand, ICON MY needs no introduction having qualified for all MPL-MY/SG seasons so far. ICON MY’s line-up features familiar faces like veterans Cometopapa and Unta, while newcomers Xpax X-Assins feature the formidable Ax on their roster. Ax was previously known as Jinn from MPL-MY/SG Season 2 champions, Saiyan Reborn.
From Singapore, MPL debutants NARA Esports captured their first qualification for the Regular Season after coming out on top in an intense 2-1 comeback against team Jasper & Friends at the Singapore Qualifier. Players to watch out include Fenrir (previously a competitive player in Indonesia) and Kolia (former captain of Evos Esports SG).
The four qualifying teams will clash with the six invited teams from Season 2: Reborn (Defending Champions, formerly called Saiyan Reborn), Bigetron SG (Season 1 Champions), Bosskurr Gaming (formerly AirAsia Saiyan), Evos Esports SG, Resurgence, and Geek Fam.
Drama During the Qualifiers
With the high stakes and an increasing level of competition in MPL-MY/SG, the qualifying rounds of Season 3 did not go by without any drama. The most common allegation was cheating via “jockeying” or “piloting” where players hired foreign representatives to play in their place in online qualifier matches. According to Moonton, new guidelines will be introduced for the upcoming Regular Season.
“As the developer of Mobile Legends: Bang Bang and owner of its esports properties, Moonton is strongly against any form of cheating as it goes against our ideals of integrity and sportsmanship. We have taken measures to introduce new regulations that will prevent future incidents, and they will be rolled out in the updated official rulebook which is taking effect from this Regular Season onwards,” said Logan Shaw, Tournament Director.
He added, “We also want to reassure players and stakeholders that we have received their feedback throughout the Season 3 qualifiers. As MPL-MY/SG grows and matures, we are committed to work through these growing pains and bring MLBB esports to the next level for the local community.”
For full transparency, the organisers of MPL-MY/SG will be publishing a full incident report and the updated official rulebook on the tournament website at mysg.mpl.mobilelegends.com.
Regular Season Breakdown and Incentives
The qualifying teams will now battle for a share of Season 3’s US$100,000 prize pool. The Regular Season format is a round robin best-of-3 with a total of US$48,000 up for grabs. All teams will receive a weekly allowance of US$350 (an increase from last season’s US$300 weekly allowance), and for every game won, the teams will pocket an additional US$200.
At the end of the Regular Season, one player will get to bag a US$500 bonus by earning the Regular Season MVP award, based on professional performance and consistency. The player with the highest KDA (Kill-Death-Assist) ratio will also be awarded the Regular Season King of KDA and pocket a bonus of US$500.
This Regular Season will be played over six consecutive weeks every Friday to Sunday from 1st March 2019. The bottom two teams of the Regular Season will be eliminated, leaving eight teams who will advance to the Playoffs on 20th – 21st April 2019, happening at Blue Atrium, Sunway Pyramid in Petaling Jaya.
All matches will be played online and streamed on Mobile Legends: Bang Bang’s official Facebook page with shoutcasting in English and Bahasa Malaysia. For details and full team line-ups, visit here.
