Images: MOONTON Games
Fnatic ONIC PH will be one of two teams carrying the Philippines' hopes for a fifth-straight MLBB world title.
The Mobile Legends: Bang Bang (MLBB) M6 World Championship is set to kick off on November 21, with 23 of the best MLBB teams from all across the world fighting to claim the lion's share of a $1 million prize pool and this year's MLBB world title. In this series, we'll be taking a look at all the teams that qualified for the Swiss Stage and their chances of becoming the 2024 MLBB world champions.
First up are 
FNATIC Onic PH, the Filipino powerhouse that stand as one of the biggest contenders in the M6 World Championship.
Fnatic ONIC PH roster:
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Duane “Kelra” Pillas - Gold Lane![]()
King “K1ngkong” Perez - Jungler![]()
Frince Miguel “Super Frince” Ramirez - Middle Lane![]()
Jann Kirk Solcruz “Kirk” Gutierrez - EXP Lane![]()
Brian “SpiderMilez” Santos - Roamer
Duane “Kelra” PillasThe contender from out of nowhere
The Philippines has reigned supreme in the MLBB esports scene since 2021, when Bren Esports won the M2 World Championship. Blacklist International, ECHO, and AP.Bren then continued to plant the Philippine flag in every succeeding iteration of the M series to continue the country's dominance over MLBB esports. But now, the Philippines' reign over MLBB is being challenged more than ever.
Fnatic ONIC PH are one of the two teams in the M6 World Championship that now carry the Phillipines' hopes for a fifth-straight MLBB world championship. With that said, not many expected them to be in this position at the start of the year.
Before they were known as Fnatic ONIC PH, the team were known as renown Indonesian organisation ONIC Esports' middling branch in the Philippines. Following a 5th-6th place finish in the MLBB Professional League (MPL) Philippines Season 12 in October 2023, ONIC PH revamped its roster in January this year by adding K1ngkong and Kelra as well as head coach Anthony “YnoT” Senedrin and assistant coach Patrick “E2MAX” Caidic to join Super Frince, Jem “Jem” Lanojan, and Jomearie "Escalera" Santos.
The team was rebranded to Fnatic ONIC PH after ONIC Philippines scored a partnership with British organisation Fnatic in May. Despite enjoying the support of a renown international organisation, the team finished 5th in MPL Philippines Season 13, the same place they had in the previous season. By then, it was clear that changes had to be made.
In July, Fnatic ONIC PH parted ways with Jem, Escalera, and E2MAX and signed Kirk, SpiderMilez, substitute roamer Borris “Brusko” Parro, and new assistant coach Jeniel “YellyHaze” Bata-Anon. The new roster didn't have the most promising of starts, as they didn't even make it to the Snapdragon Pro Series in July after only managing a 7th-10th place finish in the tournament's Asia-Pacific Open Finals.
But once MPL Philippines Season 14 kicked off in August, Fnatic ONIC PH were quick to show they had the potential for greatness.
The team started strong by winning their first two matches of the Regular Season, though not many expected they would be able to keep this up. But then Fnatic ONIC PH won all their matches in week two, then week three, and week four. At the midway point of the Regular Season, it was clear that the team finally hit their stride and showed they had the makings of champions.
Fnatic ONIC PH's Regular Season rampage was only stopped in their final match against Omega Esports, who dealt them their only loss in a close three-game series. And while Fnatic ONIC PH were denied the historic 14-0 Regular Season run, they still entered the MPL Philippines Season 14 Playoffs as the biggest favourites to claim the title and lead the country's campaign in the M6 World Championship.
Fnatic ONIC PH made their way to the grand finals with ease, first sweeping Aurora in the upper bracket semifinals then defeating M5 champions Falcons AP.Bren in the upper bracket finals. Aurora then denied Falcons AP.Bren the chance to defend their title in M6 by knocking them out in the lower bracket finals and forcing a rematch with Fnatic ONIC PH in the championship round. It looked like it would be another easy victory for Fnatic ONIC PH after they won the first two games of the grand finals before building a commanding 3-1 series lead. However, Aurora managed to win games five and six to force the grand finals to a deciding game seven.
Aurora had their opponents on the ropes in the decider, but Fnatic ONIC PH pulled off a masterful defense to secure the comeback win and be crowned MPL Philippines Season 14 champions.
There have been many questions about how Fnatic ONIC PH's roster will fare in the M6 World Championship, especially as all of its players will be making their first M series appearance there. Only Kelra can boast real international experience, having won the MLBB Southeast Asia Cup with Execration all the way back in 2021.
But throughout all these doubts, Fnatic ONIC PH has proven they have the talent, strategy, and synergy needed to fight for a world championship.They showed it throughout their near-perfect Regular Season run in MPL Philippines Season 14 and in their titanic grand finals showdown with Aurora.
There will be many worthy contenders for the title in the M6 World Championship, and Fnatic ONIC PH have proven themselves more than ready to take on all other challengers.
M6 World Championship team profiles:
The M6 World Championship will take place from November 21 to December 15 in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia and is split into three distinct phases: the Wildcard Stage from November 21 to 24, the Swiss Stage from November 28 to December 5, and the Knockout Stage from December 7 to 15.
Of the 23 participating teams, 15 directly qualified to the Swiss Stage while eight others will start in the Wildcard Stage, where they will fight for the 16th and final spot in the Swiss Stage. For everything you need to know about the M6 World Championship, check here.
