THEOHIOBROTHERS are currently out of the M5 World Championship, marking a disappointing finish for North America in the M-series, a region that was slowly gaining steam in the past couple of seasons.
M3 was the peak of North America when the BloodThirstyKings finished 3rd overall and even stunned Blacklist International by becoming the unlikely team to send them to the lower bracket.
Then, we can go back to M4 when The Valley reached 5th-6th in the overall standings and even snatched a game one win over Onic Esports in the lower bracket. It may not be as jaw-dropping as their previous antics but they still managed to leave an impression.
And speaking about the M3 BTK roster, if that lineup will be featured in M5, would they still end up performing better than their M5 counterparts? Let's take a deeper look.
What makes M3 BTK standout?
Looking back at the clips of BTK's M3 run, there are some notable strengths from the team. Similar to Blacklist International, BTK is obsessed with the 'Ultimate Bonding Experience' but they have some notable differences.
For Blacklist, UBE is used to sustain the team, and protect Kiel "Oheb" Soriano.
On the other hand, BTK's UBE has some similarities with the emphasis of shielding Michael "MobaZane" Cosgun, but it has one unique feature...aggression. This is noticeable since MobaZane and Ian "FwydChickn" Hohl would deploy damage centric heroes, which is a foil to Oheb's heropool and Danerie James "Wise" Del Rosario's tank junglers.
Alternatively, BTK can also opt to use Zane as a utility jungler.
This is what makes the BTK-Blacklist a very interesting matchup as both would serve as an antithesis to each other.
BTK caused a lot of problems to Blacklist since their hero pool would counter the latter's gameplan. With Vo "SHARK" Trung's Lolita, Victor's Esmeralda, Blacklist's group ups would be nerfed. SHARK even manages to sneak behind enemy lines to deliver a devastating Noumenon Blast on key targets.
And of course who wouldn't forget MobaZane's surprise Saber pick, which melted the sustainability from the Codebreakers.
It likewise helps that BTK can actually shift their hero pool when needed as seen when FwydChickn goes for Aldous or Esmeralda's to serve as a tanky protector to MobaZane's hero pool.
While, BTK has impressed the community for their tactical gameplan in M3, it certainly has its loopholes which we'll dissect.
Why BTK couldn't win it all?
BTK had one major weakness that Onic Philippines exploited, MobaZane's hero pool. Back in M3, Zane is capable of using marksman junglers like Natan, Yi Sun-Shin, Granger, etc.
These heroes have one thing in common, a lack of mobility, which is a perfect feast for Allen Jedric "Baloyskie" Baloy's Natalia. With Baloyskie sneaking his way alongside Kairi "Kairi" Rayosdelsol, MobaZane struggled to find a room to engage.
It likewise didn't help that Baloyskie's Natalia even disrupted the positioning of SHARK as Onic had their eyes glued on him. In addition, Gerald "Dlarskie" Dlar's Yu Zhong and petrify combo that made Zane question his life decisions.
There's also Jaylord "Hatred" Gonzales and Mark "Markyyyyy" Capacio who could use AOE mages like Pharsa to negate the BTK-UBE.
The end result was catastrophic for the BloodThirstyKings as they got swept by Onic, forcing them to face a vengeful Blacklist International, who eventually sent them packing home.
How M3 BTK's roster has evolved?
Now that we've dissected BTK in M3, this ultimately begs the question if they can survive the M5 gauntlet.
To simply put, the answer is no, as teams in a best-of-three, do-or-die group stage format will immediately decipher BTK's weaknesses.
In addition, MobaZane's hero pool in M3 wouldn't last a single minute especially with highly mobile jungle invaders (e.g. Baxia) becoming meta, and assassin junglers having the most bonkers damage output with the recent emblem changes, that would ultimately shut him down.
However, let's evolve BTK into their current versions, would they still make an impact? Here are the things I noticed.
In my opinion, FwydChickn is one of the most mechanically gifted NA players who can also alternate positions when needed as seen with his EXP lane switch in M4, and his sudden Mathilda in the NACT.
I was really impressed with how he managed to play against the duo barrage of Oheb and Johnmar "OhMyV33nus" Villaluna back in M3, and how he masterfully played the EXP lane role in M4.
Personally, he is the 2nd best gold laner in M3 (sorry Markyyyyy), and a top five EXP laner in M4, behind Edward "Edward" Dapadap, Sanford "Sanford" Vinuya, and Rivaldi "R7" Fatah.
As for the likes of Ziameth-Jei "ZIA" Caluya and SHARK, both have shown a level of improvement and growth from their M3 versions, and I'm actually impressed with how they played against HomeBois in their final M5 game.
Can MobaZane and Victor compete in M5?
But the big question marks stem from MobaZane and Victor.
MobaZane has learned from his flaws and has now expounded on his hero pool to the point where he becomes NA's version of Wise since both are utility junglers who can also use marksmen in their arsenal.
And recently, MobaZane is slowly venturing into assassins with Lancelots and Martises in his lineup.
However, Zane hasn't yet mastered the assassin pool which is currently buffed by the recent patch update, and with players like Kairi and Karl "KarlTzy" Nepomuceno, the recent MLBB scene favors junglers who are extremely versatile.
And even if Zane isn't featured in M5, NA will still struggle to secure a jungler as the most mechanically gifted of them all, Carlos "bestplayer1" Vega, has flaws which were exposed in M5...his lack of composure.
Meanwhile Victor hasn't been seen nor has he been making a name in the North American region, which could suggest that he has regressed.
CONCLUSION
Based on the factors indicated above, BTK's M3 roster would struggle in M5 especially with a group featuring the likes of Geek Fam and Deus Vult.
Zane might be stuck with utility junglers and given Victor's lack of improvement, the NA boys could be exposed by their foes.
Deus Vult has unleashed some of their surprised options as seen with Stanislav "SAWO" Reshnyak's damage-build Diggie, and coach Kenneth "Flysolo" Coloma even hinted in a post-match press conference, that his team has other tricks in their sleeves, which could overwhelm the NA squad.
Meanwhile Geek Fam has been more stable now with the improvements from the Indonesian players.
There are also other factors to consider. In a recent interview with SPIN.ph, Jang "Hoon" Seong-hun, revealed that the NA scene struggles to attain sponsors and endorsements, which could affect BTK's hypothetical M5 scenario.
Then there's the new group stage format, which motivates teams to immediately showcase their best.
Overall, BTK's M5 version might only finish 3rd-4th in Group D.
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