Image: M6 World Championship
It didn't take long for M6 to produce an upset. As a matter of fact, it happened in the very first match of the Swiss Stage.
The M6 World Championship Swiss Stage started with a bang as multiple upsets coloured the first day of the annual premier event for Mobile Legends: Bang Bang (MLBB) esports. While most fans predicted the first day would be a field trip for the favourites, it turned out to be the opposite as underdog squads stole the spotlight.
All eight games in the first day of the Swiss Stage proved to be entertaining for the viewers as there was no shortage of big fights. Here are the results of the first day of the M6 World Championship Swiss Stage:
The first match of the Swiss Stage produced an upset from the get-go as 
S2G Esports defeated 
Selangor Red Giants (SRG) to secure their first point. While many predicted that hometown favourites SRG would have an easy victory, the Türkiye-based team threw the prediction out of the window with an excellent draft. S2G's Mathilda-Bruno combo controlled the Malaysian titan’s lineup, giving them the victory at the 19-minute mark.
The second match saw the infamous 
BloodThirstyKings (BTK) squad against Wildcard winners 
ULFHEDNAR. While many teams relied on Assassin Junglers, the kings of North America stayed true to their Tank-Jungler meta with Fredrinn as the front line in a four-protect-one lineup. The draft worked wonders as BTK's 
Jang “Hoon” Seong-hun provided mobility using Luo Yi’s Diversion while 
Ian “FwydChickn” Hohl provided the necessary damage using Granger. One crucial takedown on ULFHEDNAR’s 
Sidar “Tienzy” Menteşe would seal the deal for BTK.
The third match of the day was between the champions of Singapore and Cambodia. Boasting a third-place finish in the MLBB Mid Season Cup (MSC) 2024, 
NIP Flash was the clear favourite in this series. And when everyone thought the favourites would net the victory, upsets continued to be the prevailing theme for this matchup.
NIP Flash blew the lead after a crucial engage by 
Chhuon “Oppi” Phengkong on Chou, followed by the Implosion from Cheang “Zee” Piseth, stolen from the enemy Tigreal, proved to be the key to 
CFU Gaming's first Swiss Stage victory.
The fourth match was one of the rare occasions where an upset didn’t occur, as 
Team Spirit easily defeated LATAM champions 
Maycam Evolve. 
Mathaios “Kid Bomba” Panagiotis Chatzilakos and his teammates outclassed their opponents, not giving them any chances for a comeback as they easily took the win in 14 minutes.
The fifth series of the day showed the return of today's theme as 
Twisted Minds, the champion of MENA, bested MLBB Professional League (MPL) Malaysia runners-up, 
Team Vamos.
While 
Ayman Othman Bin “Sanji” Muidh Alqarni was the MVP for the MPL MENA tournament, it was 
Mahmoud “7oda” Ayman that catalysed Twisted Minds' victory against Team Vamos. His performance with Joy dismantled Team Vamos’ attempts to use the map to their advantage as he continuously split it to prevent Chip’s macro play from being utilised.
Falcon Esports and 
Aurora Gaming, two of the tournament's most polarising teams, faced off in the day's sixth series. One was the new generation of Myanmar’s talent, while the other was filled with decorated Filipino veterans. In the ideal world, Aurora should easily win the series. However, this was not one of those.
Myanmar's champions defeated Aurora using a bold strategy to choke out the MPL Philippines' second representative. It worked perfectly as Bane and Zhuxin’s damage surprised the Filipinos with pickoff after pickoff and enabled Falcon Esports to secure the victory.
The seventh series paired Indonesia's 
RRQ Hoshi and China’s best in 
KeepBest Gaming. With fans already pampered with upset after upset, they were left disappointed as RRQ Hoshi proved to be the clear winner even from the early game. It was a blink-and-you-missed-it series where the kings ended the game under 10 minutes with Zhuxin, again, taking centre stage.
The most anticipated series of the day saw the champions of Indonesia take on the Philippines' finest, with the MLBB world expecting a highly competitive game between the two. However, 
Fnatic ONIC PH had other plans as they took down 
Team Liquid ID in dominant fashion. The game didn’t even last a quarter of an hour, showcasing a clear difference in class between the two teams.
The M6 World Championship continues with day two of the Swiss Stage, where the high seeds will meet with another high seed to get in position for an Advancement match to the Knockout Stage. Meanwhile, the low seeds will also be facing each other in the hopes of bouncing back from their poor starts. Here are the draws for day two of the Swiss Stage:
High Seeds (1-0):
- Falcon Esports Vs Twisted Minds
- S2G Esports Vs BloodThirstyKings
- RRQ Hoshi Vs Team Spirit
- CFU Gaming Vs Fnatic ONIC PH
Low Seeds (0-1):
- KeepBestGaming Vs Team Liquid ID
- NIP Flash Vs Aurora Gaming
- ULFHEDNAR Vs Selangor Red Giants
- Maycam Evolve Vs Team Vamos
No Malaysia versus Malaysia will happen on day two; KeepBestGaming will meet with another Indonesian team in the tournament. On the high seed bracket, RRQ Hoshi versus Team Spirit as well as S2G Esports versus BloodThirstyKings are probably the most competitive series. Which teams will emerge victorious on day 2?
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.
