MPL MY Season 11 reached the end of its Regular Season, with a huge shock, as Team HAQ were eliminated before the playoffs.
headline photo courtesy of Team HAQ Esports Club
With a shorter Regular Season at the Mobile Legends Professional League in Malaysia, the teams in Season 11 only saw a total of six weeks of series as they pushed to reach the playoffs. With Orange Esports no longer in the mix, there was a big chance for some new teams to show off their skills, with Team Secret becoming the new addition to the 10-team roster. However, as the Regular Season progressed, it was clear that there were going to be some big upsets, with the final weekend of play seeing to this.
The demise of HAQ
With no major roster changes going into MPL MY Season 11, the reigning champions were still considered favourites – especially considering the way in which they performed in Season 10. Team HAQ’s addition of a player from the Philippines looked to bolster the squad in a region where the top spots were often highly contested. Right off the bat, HAQ were met with fierce contests, including HomeBois, TODAK, and RSG Slate MY – all of whom proved to be better in the opening weeks. Unfortunately for HAQ, even with their victories over Secret, they had nothing else in their reserves throughout the Regular Season and lost every other series.
In their final series, where a win could have pushed them into the playoffs, HAQ failed to take down Red Giants Esports, and would end up in ninth place, with only seven points to their name. The huge upset sees the reigning champions unable to defend their title, although even if they had made it into the playoffs, it is likely that they would have instantly been eliminated.
Team SMG are back on top
In complete contrast to Secret’s 0-9 scoreline, Team SMG were near perfect at the top, winning all of their series and only dropping a single game in Week 1 to The Swordfish. With both TODAK and SMG at the pinnacle of the standings, they get to move into the upper bracket semi-finals straight away, giving them a massive advantage for the playoffs.
image courtesy of MPL MY
For the two qualifier teams, Red Giants Esports and Madness Esports, have a huge chance to cause even more upsets – although the latter will be part of the elimination series on the first day of playoffs. The MPL MY Season 11 playoffs kick off on April 27, giving the teams involved a 10-day break from competing as they prepare for the final challenge. It will be interesting to see if anyone can stop Team SMG when it comes down to it, and to witness which team becomes the new MPL MY Season 11 champion and gets to represent Malaysia at MSC 2023.
