AP.Bren’s victory at the M5 World Championship was quite a surprise to some, but the brilliance of their drafts makes it clear that they knew the plan.
All photographs courtesy of Moonton
After being battered in a 3-0 upper bracket finals, nobody expected 
AP.Bren to be the ones that would stop the 
ONIC Esports train at the recently concluded M5 World Championship. Even when they had the upper hand in the first game of that series, Bren could not close it out, but they came back with a vengeance to take down the Kings of Indonesia and claim yet another M-Series title for themselves and the Philippines. There are a lot of factors that went into making this dream come to life, and we will go through them.
Coaching like no other
There is no denying that coaches make a huge difference when it comes to any esports title, and Mobile Legends: Bang Bang follows suit. For Bren, this comes in the form of a dynamic duo, Francis "Ducky" Glindro, and Vrendon “Vren” Pesebre – both of whom showed exactly why their role is of such great importance. The two coaches have worked tirelessly in 2023, bringing Bren back into the limelight, and helping the team lift the MPL PH title again. All of their efforts culminated in a spectacular M-Series, where their drafting was a major factor in their series win.
The unlikely draft
During M5, we saw a lot of picks that were “off-meta”, as teams experimented and chose heroes that they felt could turn the tides over their opponents. We saw the likes of Roger and Helcurt make an appearance, with even more unlikely picks of Ling, Masha, and Pharsa showing up too. But the grand final Thamuz from Bren was one that blew us all away. Having only successfully been used once by TheOhioBrothers previously in the tournament, Bren opened the grand finals with a clear plan and stuck with it going forward.
Although it did not always work, Bren’s willingness to utilise a hero which had not looked promising throughout M5 showed their resilience in the face of ONIC. The grand finals MVP, 
FlapTzy, even went as far as to include Thamuz as his choice for the “Champion Skin”, after he put on a masterclass performance with the hero. This was not the only part of the drafting that led to a superb grand final, with each and every pick thought out to accomplish a specific goal – and that goal was made clear by Coach Ducky after the trophy had been handed over, in the post-match press conference:
The main focus from our previous encounter with ONIC during the upper bracket finals was having Kairi play out of his comfort zone. As we progressed with the series, we discovered that there are certain heroes that they are prioritising, so we managed to adjust on the fly.”
Kairi countered
Kairi “Kairi” Ygnacio Rayosdelsol is considered one of the absolute best MLBB players currently in the game, and he has built this reputation up over countless painstaking hours in the game. Whether it has been during MPL PH, ID, MSC, the M-Series, or any other event, Kairi’s presence from the jungle has been feared by many, and his trophy cabinet shows why. However, it seems as though teams such as Bren are beginning to unravel the jungler, pushing him out of his comfort zones and forcing him to adapt to their drafts. During the M5 grand final, Bren’s invasion of the jungle and constant battering of Kairi proved to be part of their winning formula – and even when it did not work out to get a win, it stumped Kairi and made ONIC have to work harder to overcome the situation.
However, the fault of the grand final could not, and should never be placed on one player – as we know the talent which he has, and the entire ONIC team in general has. On the day, Bren were just a level above their ID opponents, and with the Hive buzzing behind them on their home soil, many factors went into the victory. When it comes down to it, we are likely to see ONIC continue to dominate with this lineup in the new year, but Bren has now opened a wound that other teams can look to take advantage of.
