BACK IN the M4 World Championship, it seems teams have been relying on the prowess of EXP laners.
All eyes were on Blacklist International's Edward Jay "Edward" Dapadap, who caused a lot of problems for the opposition as his split pushing antics and pincer movements provided a lifeline for the Codebreakers.
Then there's Sanford "SanFord" Vinuya who became the ultimate game changer in the grand finals as his sudden entrances to the backlines would ultimately destroy the Code. Some would argue that he should've been the finals MVP.
However the two grand finalists weren't always the heavy juggernauts in that role as there were others who likewise stood out. RRQ benefitted from Rivaldi "R7" Fatah's heroics, then there's Ian "FwydChickn" Hohl who seem to be carrying the burden for North America's The Valley.
Even Incendio Supremacy's Bariş "Alien" Çakir, Falcon Esports' Min Khant "yellowflash" Hein, and RRQ Akira's Arthur "Tekashi" Nascimento had moments of brilliance during that tournament.
While EXP laners have been the star of the show in M4, the recent world series has produced an exciting matchup featuring midlaners.
The rise of aggressive and flashy midlaners
From the group stages and now in the knockouts, there seems to be a rising trend of micro and flashy midlaners who would charge in the heat of battle and overwhelm the opposition.
Fire Flux Esports became the top seed as they swept Blacklist International, 2-0, all thanks to series MVP Ahmet "Rosa" Batir.
Rosa was a force to be reckoned with, as both his Lylia and Valentina destroyed the Filipino reps. He even made some high risk, high reward plays where he would take initiative and aggressively poke members of Blacklist, a skill that only a rare breed of midlaners (e.g. Alston "Sanji" Pabico) are capable of doing.
And because of his antics, Kenneth "Yue" Tadeo took a page from this playstyle as seen with how he played against Onic Esports in the upper bracket playoff round.
Yue's Valentina would charge back-and-forth, with his Game 3 defense one of the highlights of that series. Together with Kiel "Oheb" Soriano, the Blacklist duo baited key threats like Kairi "Kairi" Rayosdelsol and Calvin "CW" Winata.
It likewise helped that Yue's damage output went bonkers especially with how he sniped Gilang "SANZ" in that series.
And speaking about SANZ, he and Yue had a monumental clash where both midlaners were the stars of the show. It can be argued that Onic shouldn't be branded as 'Kairi-esports' but rather as 'SANZ-esports' especially with how he became the micro-maestro who provided the saving grace for the Porcupines.
Plus there have been other notable performances as seen from Deus Vult's Kemiran "Sunset Lover" Kochkarov, when he made a noteworthy 1-v-3 defensive play against HomeBois, and his sudden Phoveus pick against Geek Fam likewise proves his flexibility, enhancing the Crusaders' gameplan under Coach Kenneth "Flysolo" Coloma.
The changes in the meta
But none of these would've been possible had the meta not shifted towards their favor. The recent MLBB patch has introduced a varied usage of emblems that allowed these midlaners to go all out.
With the rupture emblem, midlaners can now venture into the assassin route, which perfectly synergizes with the magic damage and cooldown reduction progression from mages.
Then there's the Wilderness Blessing emblem, which allows midlaners to easily traverse around the battlefield and rotate in teamfights when needed.
Combined that with defensive items like immortality and winter truncheon, midlaners now have more insurance, giving them more confidence to strike their targets.
But the emblems have also affected other roles as seen with the emergence of fighter junglers, which goes hand-in-hand with midlaners, something that AP.Bren's Coach Vrendon Lin discussed in an exclusive with SPIN.ph.
"I'd say with the increase of fighter junglers din which are very good in river and midlane control like Guinevere, Martis, Joy, and Nolans, I think kailangan talaga mag-step up yung mga midlaners," he discussed.
"Doon nagsho-showcase yung level sa meta, micro, and heropool din. Kaya sila din yung nagsha-shine sa meta. Tsaka sila rin yung damage dealer. Sila lagi yung nagsta-standout."
Is Valentina the ultimate game changer?
So far while looking at the stats, it seems Valentina is one of the most popular midlane heroes, being selected 55 times across the entire event.
And in the recent matchup between Blacklist International and Onic Esports, Valentina proved to be the most important hero as both SANZ and Yue are considered maestros of the Prophetess, and both Coaches Paul Denver "Yeb" Miranda and Aniel "Master The Basics" Jiandani kept her on their watch.
This was further highlighted with how both of them clashed with the hero and it even reached the boiling point when fans questioned Master The Basics for not picking an open Valentina in Game 5, which could've been the reason for Blacklist's demise.
But they aren't the only ones who mastered the hero as Rosa has proven to be a pest with the hero. With them having a significant impact, teams going up against them will have to contest their signature hero.
However the stats likewise revealed that Faramis is also another option for midlaners, being picked 50 times and banned 40 times in M5.
The added sustain and crowd control, plus potential poke damage, combined with the emblems is a godsend to the likes of Kyle Angelo "Pheww" Arcangel and Sunset Lover.
But there are other pocket strats that could emerge from midlaners. We've seen Terizla picks from Rosa and Sunset Lover, but AP.Bren suddenly curved the ball with their Odette pick against See You Soon.
Coach Vrendon Lin likewise discussed about the Swan Song dancer.
"The Odette pick was really planned out. It turned out sa series against SYS siya lumabas. It was one of our pocket picks, coming into M5. Maraming checklist kung bakit namin siya inilabas kanina and all the trigger points were correct and we executed it well."
And more options could emerge, which was hinted by Coach Vren.
"Definitely marami pang midlane heroes na pwede talagang ipasok e. Para sa akin personally, if you can't beat someone, head-to-head kasi may mga matchup sa midlane na hindi talaga mapagkakaila na lamang si ganito sa ganito in terms of raw skill, daanan na lang natin sa surprise picks gaya ng mga Odette."
Given all the factors indicated above, will a midlaner win a prestigious award in M5?
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