MLBB Women's Invitational 2024: CFU Serendipity, a new challenger from Cambodia

After going on a lower bracket run in the Cambodian qualifier for MWI 2024, CFU Serendipity are ready to rise to the challenge in Riyadh.

The women's Mobile Legends: Bang Bang (MLBB) esports scene is set to take the spotlight in the upcoming MLBB Women’s Invitational (MWI) 2024 in late July. As part of the Esports World Cup, 12 of the best women's MLBB teams from all across the world will be battling it out in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia for the right to claim the title of strongest in the world as well as the grand prize of $180,000 out of a $500,000 prize pool.

CFU Serendipity will be among the 12 championship hopefuls in this year’s MWI as representatives of Cambodia, one of the most competitive yet often underrated nations in MLBB.

A difficult road to Riyadh

CFU Serendipity will be entering MWI 2024 with some well-earned battle scars after a hard-fought victory in the Queen Arena Series. That event served as the Cambodian qualifier for this year’s MWI, featuring seven of the best women’s MLBB teams in the country fighting for a chance to fly to Riyadh and compete on the big stage.

CFU Serendipity looked fairly competitive to start the Queen Arena Series, finishing the Group Stage as the second seed of Group B with a 2-1 record. They then carried their early success into the Playoffs, defeating Rice Duck Athena, 2-1, in the upper bracket quarterfinals.

However, CFU Serendipity stumbled in the next round and lost to Imperium Fiery, 2-1, in the upper bracket semifinals. That marked CFU Serendipity’s second 2-1 loss of the tournament to Imperium Fiery, who previously defeated them in the Group Stage and claimed Group B’s top seed.

Despite that setback, CFU Serendipity’s hopes of making it to MWI were still alive. They just needed to make it through the difficult lower bracket, much easier said than done.

Things looked dire for CFU Serendipity during their first elimination match against Team Flash Violet, who had them on the ropes after winning game one. However, CFU Serendipity managed to pull off the 2-1 reverse sweep to advance to the lower bracket finals.

There, they met Soon Imperium, who were coming off a loss to Imperium Fiery in the upper bracket finals. Seemingly flipping a switch during their match against Team Flash Violet, CFU Serendipity swept their opponents to earn a rematch with Imperium Fiery in the grand finals.

In a total reversal of their previous encounters, CFU Serendipity soundly swept Imperium Fiery, 3-0, to earn the right to represent Cambodia at this year’s MWI.

When considering the path they had to go through in the qualifier, CFU Serendipity will be one of the more battle-tested women’s MLBB teams in Riyadh.

Like a shark in the water

CFU Serendipity’s roster features a mix of capable veterans and up-and-coming players still looking to fully break into the pro scene.

Jungler Rin “Tegami” Chanthana, mid laner Chhaylim “Abie” Kenary, and roamer Prum “UEE” Ee are all experienced full-time pro players. The trio have even competed in the last two iterations of the MWI under the banner of Impunity Starlets, finishing 9th in 2022 and 5th-8th in 2023. This time around, they are determined to finish even higher, if not win the whole thing.

On the other hand, EXP laner Ol “YuiFendi” Maraty and gold laner Yong “MOSHII BANG” Chanpisey will be looking to make a splash in their international tournament debuts. While the pair are still students and not full-time pros, the fact that they helped CFU Serendipity make it to MWI alone is more than enough reason to respect them.

Harada “Miki” Miki, who regularly hosts Cambodia’s MLBB Professional League (MPL), will also be lending the team support as a substitute. Joining Miki in the sidelines are coach Gesang “T1m3go” Jiacuo and analyst Cheang “Zee” Piseth.

T1m3go, who is Chinese, has served as the coach of CFU Gaming’s men’s MLBB team for the past three seasons of MPL Cambodia. Meanwhile, Zee is currently CFU Gaming’s mid laner and will be assisting his counterparts in the women’s team as an analyst.

Teams in the MWI would do well not to underestimate CFU Serendipity. While they may not boast the most talented or experienced roster, their ability to respond to adversity and bounce back from it – as they did during the qualifier – makes them a dangerous opponent.

No one on the team embodies this aspect of determination and perseverance better than Tegami. CFU Serendipity’s jungler has a bit of a ‘zero to hero’ career trajectory going on, starting out as the team’s substitute before being moved up to the main roster after a concerted effort to improve her gameplay and expand her hero pool to accommodate the team’s needs.

That same stubborn, underdog mentality greatly helped CFU Serendipity in their run through the qualifier for MWI. While lesser teams may have folded from the pressure of getting knocked down to the lower bracket, Tegami and her teammates instead used this adversity to fuel their comeback.

The experience accrued by Tegami, Abie, and UEE in their past appearances at MWI should also help their other teammates get adjusted to this new, intense environment. Likewise, YuiFendi, MOSHII BANG, and Miki can also offer fresh perspectives that their veteran teammates could use to get over the hump. CFU Serendipity looks like a well-oiled machine, and one that has proven itself in battle too, their opponents better be wary.

It must also be noted that CFU Serendipity, as a Cambodian team, hails from a country known very well for causing upsets and competing against the very best teams despite not having the same prestige that other top nations like the Philippines or Indonesia have. Just look at BURN x FLASH's Top 4 finish at last year's MLBB Southeast Asia Cup or See You Soon's 5th-6th place campaign at the M5 World Championship.

CFU Serendipity should command respect from their opponents, lest they pay the price for underestimating a formidable opponent. And as much as one would want to brand them as ‘dark horses’, perhaps it's better to say that CFU Serendipity are more like the shark seen in their team's logo – ominously circling in the water, poised to strike an unwary opponent.

CFU Serendipity will be starting the MWI 2024 Group Stage in Group A, arguably the hardest group of the tournament as it also includes North America’s Cloud9 Female and Indonesia’s Falcons VEGA.

The Cambodian squad will surely be facing an uphill battle to get to the Playoffs. But adversity should be nothing new for CFU Serendipity, and their run through the qualifier proves they are more than capable of overcoming whatever challenge awaits them.

CFU Serendipity roster: