Images: MOONTON Games
Fnatic ONIC PH are the Philippines' only hope for five straight MLBB world titles in the M6 World Championship. YnoT is confident his team is up to the task.
Filipino Mobile Legends: Bang Bang (MLBB) juggernauts 
Fnatic ONIC PH have been one of the most dominant teams in the M6 World Championship, having advanced to the tournament's upper bracket finals in day two of the Knockout Stage.
Almost everyone expected Fnatic ONIC PH would end up in this position. After all, they qualified for M6 as the champions of the MLBB Professional League (MPL) Philippines Season 14 with a near-perfect run through the league's Regular Season – which made them one of the biggest favourites to be crowned as this year's MLBB world champions. Fnatic ONIC PH have been living up to their promise so far. They breezed through the M6 Swiss Stage in three rounds to qualify for the Knockout Stage. There, they swept another big favourite in Selangor Red Giants in the upper bracket finals before surviving a five-game thriller against Falcon Esports in the upper bracket semifinals.
The pressure is mounting on Fnatic ONIC PH as they are now just two more series victories away from claiming the M6 trophy, with the seven other competitors remaining in the tournament now clearly seeing them as the team to beat.
In an exclusive interview with GosuGamers, Fnatic ONIC PH coach Anthony "YnoT" Senedrin says his team is both well aware and equipped to handle the pressure of MLBB's biggest stage.
“Pressure is automatic with the idea of being here in M6 already. I mean, the additional thought of being the only Filipino team left, I don't think we mind it too much. I think it's all the same. At the end of the day, we came here knowing that it's us against the world. So as long as we have that grasp of trust with each other, as long as we understand that we can do anything as long as we work together, I think we'll be okay.”
Fnatic ONIC PH against the world
There's a lot riding on Fnatic ONIC PH securing ultimate victory in M6, in fact, it's a matter of national pride for the Philippines.
Filipino teams have been crowned as MLBB's world champions in the last four iterations of the M World Championship series. If Fnatic ONIC PH also win in M6, it will make five straight years that Filipino teams have been crowned as MLBB's world champions – a level of dominance by a single country over an esports title last seen in South Korea's reign in the early days of StarCraft.
Unlike previous years, M6 only features one Filipino team in Fnatic ONIC PH making the Top 8. The other Filipino squad that qualified for the tournament, Aurora Gaming, failed to make it out of the Swiss Stage.
YnoT's words ring true, Fnatic ONIC PH indeed stand alone against the world. And they have already overcome challengers from Indonesia, Cambodia, North America, and Myanmar so far. Their next opponent in the upper bracket finals will be Indonesia's 
Team Liquid ID, a team they already defeated back in the first round of the Swiss Stage.
It won't be an easy rematch for Fnatic ONIC PH, if their five-game slugfest against 
Falcon Esports in the upper bracket semifinals is anything to go by. While the team still walked away with the victory, YnoT is taking it more as a learning experience they will be needing for the battles still to come.
"I'm pretty sure I'm going to have long nights thinking about some of the picks that I could have picked, some of the bans that I could have banned [versus Falcon Esports]. But again, that's just a part of it. Another part of it would be how the team executes with whatever heroes that we pick. So it's really a good thing that me and the players understand this and we don't really point fingers or anything. It's more of us being a collective with our thoughts and ideas and making sure that next time we do better in both those aspects.
Even if Fnatic ONIC PH have looked a level above the rest of their competition in M6, YnoT still thinks there's still plenty of room for improvement. The coach noted the team's map movement, rotations, and teamfight spacing as things they need to work on. But more than that, YnoT acknowledged that Fnatic ONIC PH aren't the strongest team in M6 – even if they definitely look like it – and they need to prepare and play to the best of their abilities if they hope to claim the championship.
“We ain't the strongest, all the teams here are competitive and again, we need to get the proper tools that we need in order to have a good fight. I think anyone can give us a tough time. RRQ Hoshi can, Team Liquid ID can. But at the end of the day, I think what's most important is us, how we do it, how I draft, how the players execute. Now it's back to the drawing board, making sure that we would be up to date with our next opponent. Making sure that all the cards that should be or could be shown to us, we'd know how to play it."
YnoT relish the opportunity to face Team Liquid ID again for a spot in the M6 grand finals. Fnatic ONIC PH may have defeated the Indonesian powerhouse in the first round of the Swiss Stage, but that was just one game. Team Liquid ID defeated Fnatic ONIC PH in a best-of-three series in the Snapdragon Pro Series Season 6 APAC - Open Finals just before M6. Who knows what could happen in a high-stakes best-of-five showdown?
More than that, there's the ongoing rivalry between the Philippines and Indonesia, the country that claimed the inaugural MLBB world title before the Filipinos took over. If Philippine national pride is riding on a Fnatic ONIC PH victory, the same can be said for Indonesia's hopes for Team Liquid ID. Fans would also love to see the biggest stars of the Philippines like 
King “K1ngkong” Perez and Duane “Kelra” Pillas go up against their Indonesian counterparts in 
Favian “Faviannn” Putra and Sultan “Aeron” Muhammad.
But whatever happens in Fnatic ONIC PH's upcoming showdown with Team Liquid ID, and whatever match comes after that, YnoT stresses that the key to his team's victory will always be their preparation and execution. Whatever results come from that will speak for themselves.
“Having the idea of that Favian-Kingkong matchup again, that Aeronshiki-Kelra matchup again. I'm pretty sure the players would appreciate that. But whoever rises up to the challenge, I'm pretty sure my team won't back down. I mean, to be honest, it's anyone at this point. What's most important to me is us executing to a T. What we need to do, it's us making sure that we're in a proper state of mind.”
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 participants will fight for their lives in the tournament, as only eight slots are open for the Knockout Stage. For everything you need to know about the M6 World Championship, check here.
