Image: MOONTON Games
Of eight teams, only one will survive to the Swiss Stage. Here's who we think have the best chances.
The Mobile Legends: Bang Bang (MLBB) M6 World Championship is set to kick off with its preliminary Wildcard Stage, which will take place from November 21 to 24. Eight teams will be fighting across a single round-robin Group Stage and a best-of-five Decider Match to claim the 16th and final spot in the Swiss Stage.
Legion Esports, 
Niightmare Esports, 
Insilio, 
ULFHEDNAR, 
RRQ Akira, 
Geekay Esports, 
DFYG, and 
The MongolZ will be the eight teams in Wildcard Stage. Which among them will survive and advance to the Swiss Stage? Read on for our predictions.
Favourites: RRQ Akira and ULFHEDNAR
Based on experience and past performances alone, Brazil's RRQ Akira and Turkey's ULFHEDNAR (formerly the roster of Fire Flux Esports) have the best chances of making it out of the Wildcard Stage.
RRQ Akira have dominated the Latin American MLBB scene and even qualified for two M World Championship events in the past, notably finishing 7th-8th in the M3 World Championship in January 2023. The team will be competing in the M6 Wildcard with the same roster from M4, so they will have roster continuity and familiarity with the pressures of the big stage on their side.
Meanwhile, ULFHEDNAR have been carrying the banner of Turkey in MLBB, and can boast three Top 8 finishes in the 2023 MLBB Southeast Asia Cup, the M5 World Championship, and the MLBB Mid Season Cup 2024 among their accolades from their time under Fire Flux Esports.
We expect these two to come out of the Wildcard Group Stage, with ULFHEDNAR in Group A and RRQ Akira in Group B. It will surely be a close match should these two indeed meet in the Decider, but we will give the edge to ULFHEDNAR.
Contenders: Legion Esports and Niightmare Esports
The two Southeast Asian teams in the Wildcard include Vietnam's Legion Esports and Laos' Niightmare Esports, the Top 2 finishers in the M Challenge Cup Mekong Season 4. By virtue of playing in MLBB's heartland of Southeast Asia, Legion and Niightmare should have the talent to make it far. What pushes them a tier below RRQ Akira and ULFHEDNAR is that they just don't have the experience in top tier tournaments to bolster their cases quite yet.
With that said, we think Legion and Niightmare have as good a chance as any to make it out of the Wildcard. Of course, they will have to defeat two more experienced opponents in RRQ Akira and ULFHEDNAR in order to do so. But if they can take down those two, then the way to the Swiss Stage should be wide open.
Dark Horses: Insilio, Geekay Esports, DFYG, and The MongolZ
Finally, we have Russia's Insilio, Egypt's Geekay Esports, China's DFYG, and Mongolia's The MongolZ. These four teams are no slouches by any means, but they will be facing an uphill battle against formidable opponents for just one spot in the cutthroat M6 Wildcard.
Insilio and The MongolZ will be fresh to the scene, and how they will fare against international competition is a big question mark. Geekay Esports have grappled with notable squads like Twisted Minds and Team Falcons before, so they will bring their own brand of MENA MLBB to the Wildcard. Time will tell if that's enough to get them to the Swiss Stage.
DFYG, formerly known as Xianyou Gaming, notably played in this year's Mid Season Cup, where they finished 13th-16th out of 23 participants. They won't be strangers to facing teams from a variety of other regions, so they may be the one team in this tier that will end up surprising some people.
Make no mistake, there will be no guaranteed teams in the Wildcard, especially from these four. They will be as hungry as anyone to make it to the Swiss Stage and get the chance to prove themselves in MLBB's biggest stage. Sure, it will be a long shot to get there, but their opponents would do well not to underestimate them all the same.
M6 World Championship team profiles:
- Fnatic ONIC PH, the Philippines' top contender
- Aurora Gaming, the Filipino superteam
- NIP Flash, Singapore's rising stars
- CFU Gaming, Cambodia's finest
- BloodThirstyKings, the kings of North America
- KeepBest Gaming, China's best bet
- Twisted Minds, a new star from MENA
- Team Liquid ID, the cavalry of new blood
- RRQ Hoshi, the uncrowned kings
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.
