MWI 2024: Smart Omega Empress is primed for battle

MWI 2024 is quickly approaching, and for Smart Omega Empress, this year gives them a chance for some much-wanted revenge over their Indonesian rivals.

With the Mobile Legends Women’s Invitational undergoing some huge changes for 2024, the teams have definitely seen some too – as they prepare themselves for a trip to Riyadh, Saudi Arabia to compete in the Esports World Cup. Not only are these women the best Mobile Legends: Bang Bang players from their specific regions, but they will also get to make history as some of the first women to participate at the EWC, hopefully paving the path for many more in the future. For the women of Omega Empress, this may not be their first MWI, but it might finally be their chance to take the title for the Philippines and make the region dominant across multiple tournaments.

Taking PH to the top

Back in 2022, the team only managed to finish in a poor 5th-8th, being beaten by their regional opposition, Bren Victress. 2023’s event saw a far better result for the women, as they managed to break the top three – meaning that MWI 2024 could follow a pattern that finally sees PH and Omega Empress come out on top. Although this year may not have seen them in too many tournaments, Empress has been steadily playing in many B and C-tier events since MWI 2023.

Three first-place finishes at the UniPin Ladies Championship Philippines Season 2, the Female Pro League Season 7, and the RM Women’s League were part of 2023 – with 2024 seeing only a fourth-place finish at the Snapdragon Pro Series: Women’s League APJ Finals. Even so, the MWI: Road to Sibal qualifier was no match for the women, who seem primed to take on the world for the first time, and finally get their revenge over Team Vitality Female – who were part of the reason for their eventual elimination from the SPS earlier this year. With the rivalry between these two regions being as big as it is, Empress has a huge chance to turn the tables and take PH to the top.

Challenging the world

The women from the Empress squad are definitely no strangers to tournaments, for the most part, but an international stage will be something that they have never participated in before. The Empress roster has been through a lot together, even with Ayanami only joining at the beginning of 2023, the team shines as a unit. All five players originally hail from the Cebu province in the Philippines and have become one of the most ambitious teams in the region.

As mentioned previously, these players have been together for some time, and have almost all shared in the experiences of winning and participating in multiple events. From the Southeast Asia Games where they have represented the Philippines all the way through to multiple women's tournaments, the Empress squad is one to always watch. Each player excels in their specific role and with heroes in their combined pool such as Joy, Harith, Kagura, Paquito, Beatrix, and even Estes, the team is impressive at every junction. Since having this roster, here is a list of some of the team's best performances together.

32nd SEA Games - Silver medal.
UniPin Ladies Championship PH Season 2 Champions
Female Pro League Season 7 Champions
RMC Women's League Champions
MWI PH Qualifier Champions

Standing out from the pack

From the entire squad, Mery “Meraaay” Vivero is a standout star, and she has been there since the very beginning. Having joined Empress back in 2022, when the team first created its women’s division in MLBB, Meray has put in numerous hours to become one of the most well-known Roamer players in her division. Even after quitting school, Meray has turned her time into pursuing an amazing career in MLBB, which is where she and her team are at their strongest.

Meray excels with heroes such as Estes, Jawhead, and Franco, which fit perfectly into her roaming role, as she assists her team in finding objectives, taking down opponents, and winning games. With that said, in recent tournaments, we have also seen her on more “meta” heroes such as Chip and Minotaur – both of which could turn the tide when it comes to MWI. Roamers play an extremely vital role currently, and Meray is definitely one that everyone should be on the lookout for.

You can catch Smart Omega Empress in action at MWI 2024, which is part of the EWC and the only featured women’s event of the tournament. The event is set to kick off on July 24th and will run through until the 27th, when the champion will be crowned. As the only PH representative this year, the team will be counting on fans from around the world cheering for them as they look to do their region proud on the international stage. We will have more information on all the teams and the crazy $500,000 tournament in the coming weeks over on the GosuGamers MLBB channels, as we begin our countdown to MWI 2024.

Author

Jarrad "Belandrial" AdamsBelandrial has spent most of his years following Dota 2 closely, but now has found a new home in the complex world of Mobile Esports. When not watching nearly every possible esports title available, you can find me running around Azeroth or building strange bases in Valheim.