M6 World Championship Swiss Stage predictions: Which teams are destined for Knockouts?

Image: MOONTON Games

16 teams will start the M6 World Championship Swiss Stage, and by the Knockout Stage they will be down to eight. Here's who we think will make it.

The Mobile Legends: Bang Bang (MLBB) M6 World Championship will continue on November 28 with its Swiss Stage following a gruelling Wildcard Stage where ULFHEDNAR reached the promised land after a 3-0 stomp over Insilio in the Wildcard Decider. The former Fire Flux Esports roster will join the other fifteen teams in the Swiss Stage, where they will participate in a maximum of five series until December 5 to determine which eight teams will proceed to the Knockouts.

The sixteen teams in the Swiss Stage include Selangor Red Giants, Fnatic ONIC PH, NIP Flash, Twisted Minds, Team Liquid ID, RRQ Hoshi, CFU Gaming, Team Vamos, Aurora Gaming, Team Spirit, Falcon Esports, BloodThirstyKings, S2G Esports, Maycam Evolve, KeepBest Gaming, and the Wildcard stage winner,ULFHEDNAR.

Which team will progress further? Here's who we think has the best shot.

The favourites: Selangor Red Giants, Fnatic ONIC PH, Aurora Gaming

These are the three teams whose performances in the year alone made them the favourites to win the Swiss Stage. Malaysia's Selangor Red Giants (SRG) as well as Fnatic ONIC PH and Aurora Gaming from the Philippines are all but guaranteed to qualify for the Knockouts if they continue their style of play and dominance in the tournament. The Philippines have always had a stellar international showing, so the M6 World Championship shouldn't be any different.

Selangor Red Giants was the best-performing team in the year before M6, with dominance both domestically and internationally. Although this will be their first foray in the M Series, two of their players, Muhammad “Yums” Suhairi and Mohd Norhadim Bin Mohamad “Stormie” Rizwan, have already played in MLBB's biggest stage. This will be a test for the MSC 2024, where they had what it takes to complete the first golden road in MLBB.

The two Filipino teams on the list, Fnatic ONIC PH and Aurora Gaming, should be the only teams in this stage that stand a chance to break down SRG's supremacy. With both delivering a stellar MLBB Professional League (MPL) PH Season 14 grand finals, the two teams should be head and shoulders above the rest of the competition. Aurora Gaming notably have the experience advantage with M3 champion Edward Jay “Edward” Dapadap on the team.

We predict these three teams will have a relatively easy path through the Swiss Stage, and their progress is almost guaranteed if they keep up their usual dominant performances.

Contenders: Team Liquid ID, RRQ Hoshi, NIP Flash, Team Spirit, S2G Esports

The following five teams were the champions of their designated regions, with the exception of RRQ Hoshi. Their dominance in their highly-contested leagues are proof enough of contention in this category. Aside from their performance history, their experience are another reason why the favourites shouldn't just ignore them.

Team Liquid ID and RRQ Hoshi were the two show-stealing teams in the prestigious MPL Indonesia's 14th season. They dethroned Fnatic ONIC out of the Top 2 in the Regular Season and, to cement their dominance further, defeated every other team in the Playoffs while Team Liquid ID barely won the tournament. While Team Liquid ID is full of debutants, RRQ Hoshi has one very experienced player in the international scene in Schevenko David “Skylar” Tendean.

NIP Flash, Team Spirit, and S2G Esports are the champions of their respective regions. While experience was the key to contention for NIP Flash and Team Spirit, in the case of S2G Esports, the way they beat Fire Flux Esports (now ULFHEDNAR) with a 4-2 scoreline was why everyone should pay attention to these rising stars. NIP Flash boasts a team full of experienced players on the international scene. At the same time, Team Spirit has Kemiran “Sunset Lover” Kochkarov, the five-time M Series attendee, and Mathaios “Kid Bomba” Panagiotis Chatzilakos, who shocked the world in the M5 World Championship.

Dark Horses: CFU Gaming, Twisted Minds, Team Vamos, Falcon Esports, BloodThirstyKings, Maycam Evolve, KeepBest Gaming, ULFHEDNAR

This last category features the rest of the teams in the Swiss Stage. While no team is a slouch if they can qualify for the pinnacle of MLBB esports, performance and experience are the difference-makers between them and the higher caliber teams.

For BloodThirstyKings, Team Vamos, ULFHEDNAR, and Twisted Minds, experience will play a significant role in qualifying for the next stage. However, with the Group Stage format now changed from the original round robin format to the Swiss system, they must adopt a new strategy to stay on top of the other experienced teams.

Read more: ULFHEDNAR's run through M6 Wildcard Stage marred by controversial deciding game versus DFYG

The M Series debutants for M6, namely CFU Gaming, Falcon Esports, Maycam Evolve, and KeepBest Gaming, will need to rely on their fresh minds and in-game performance to have a chance of qualifying for the Knockout Stage. Interestingly, their lack of experience might have played to their advantage if the veteran couldn't adapt to the new format of the M6 World Championship.

Even though the eight teams listed here are rated as Dark Horses, don't be fooled by that moniker as they are as hungry as wolves for glory, just like the favourites. And in the Swiss Stage, anyone can fight anyone. This stage will have a high chance of producing surprises, especially when elimination or qualification is on the line.

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.

Sixteen teams have qualified for the Swiss Stage after a gruelling Wildcard Stage. All will fight for their lives in the tournament as only eight slots open for the Knockout Stage. For everything you need to know about the M6 World Championship, check here.

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