THE MSC 2024 group stages are all set and it seems the Filipino reps, Liquid ECHO and Falcons AP.Bren will face some tough competition ahead.
The recently crowned MPL PH Champions is in Group C where they'll be challenging a Wild Card team, MENA's Twisted Minds, and Europe's Team Spirit.
ECHO's roster consists of household names that managed to secure the M4 World Championship namely Jaypee "Jaypee" Dela Cruz, Alston "Sanji" Pabico, Sanford "Sanford" Vinuya, Karl "KarlTzy" Nepomuceno, and Frederic Benedict "Bennyqt" Gonzales.
They'll be up against Team Spirit, which consists of Mathaios Panagiotis "Kid Bomba" Chatzilakos, Kemiran "Sunset Lover" Kochkarov, and Stanislav "SAWO" Reshnyak three members who were a part of the M5 dark horses, Deus Vult.
To further boost their ranks, Team Spirit acquired Sergey "Marl" Finashev and Pak Anton "Hiko" Igorevich.
With both Liquid ECHO and Team Spirit clashing in Group C, it would be interesting to see a matchup between Sanford and Kid Bomba, two of the most explosive EXP laners in the scene.
AP.Bren Lang Malakas?
Meanwhile the defending world champions, Falcons AP.Bren, will be tested in Group D, featuring China's Xianyou Gaming, North America's Cloud9, and Myanmar's Falcon Esports.
Cloud9 just recently announced their arrival to the Philippines, in order to hone their skills for the upcoming MSC. C9 consists of North America's elite players such as Chris Amiel "Mielow" Enobio, Michael "MobaZane" Cosgun, Marco "Marqt" Lacson, Peter Bryce "Basic" Lozano, Chris "Cole World" Cartagenas.
This team is coached by two distinguished Filipinos in MPL PH caster, Neil "Midnight" De Guzman, and analyst Martin "Sir Rose" Bautista.
Besides Cloud9, Bren will also face the pride of Myanmar Falcon Esports. Back in MSC 2022, Falcons made a heroic run that made them the dark horses of that tournament.
However times have changed now as the team features a different lineup, brimmed with up-and-coming talents in the SEA region.
Is Group B the Group of Death?
With teams like Fnatic Onic, Cambodia's See You Soon, and Malaysia's Selangor Red Giants, Group B could be one of the toughest battlegrounds in MSC 2024.
The defending MSC champs, Fnatic Onic, are without a doubt an elite level team especially with players like Calvin "CW" Winata, Nicky Fernando "Kiboy" Pontonuwu, Gilang "SANZ," Kairi "Kairi" Rayosdelsol, and one of the biggest revelations in MPL Indonesia, Lutpi "Lutpii" Ardianto.
But will their reign carry on especially with Red Giants boosted by Filipinos namely Mark Genzon "Kramm" Rusiana, John Vincent "Innocent" Banal, and Michael Angelo "Arcadia" Bocado?
The same can be said with Cambodia's See You Soon who boasts players like Michael "MP the King" Endino and Jhonwin "Hesa" Dela Merced Vergara. SYS even pushed the Cambodian MLBB scene back in the M5 World Championship.
Some interesting matchups await us in MSC 2024.
Get more of the latest sports news & updates on SPIN.ph
NOTICE ON UNAUTHORIZED AND UNLAWFUL USE, PUBLICATION, AND/OR DISSEMINATION OF SPIN.PH CONTENT: Please be notified that any unauthorized and unlawful use, publication, and/or dissemination of Spin.ph’s content and/or materials is a direct violation of its legal and exclusive rights to the same, and shall be subject to appropriate legal action/s.
