MPL Philippines to open Season 9 on February 18

Mark your calendars as the Mobile Legends: Bang Bang Professional League (MPL) Philippines is penciled to raise the curtains for Season 9 in a little more than a month from now.

The local pro league announced on Thursday that the new season will commence on February 18, with eight clubs expected to compete for the coveted title.

Defending champion Blacklist International is tipped to remain as the team to beat after emerging victorious in the recently-concluded ML:BB M3 World Championship last month in Singapore.

The Codebreakers will also seek to cop the MPL title for three straight seasons after dominating the league since Season 7 through the leadership of Johnmar "OhMyV33nus" Villaluna and Danerie James "Wise" del Rosario.

Onic Philippines, whom Blacklist swept in their M3 grand finals showdown, is also expected to come out stronger to make up for a series of runner-up finishes on both local and international stages the past months.

Fans are also looking forward to Echo, which is tipped to pull out some strong performances after recently announcing its "super team" composed of high profile players, led by M2 World Championship MVP Karl "KarlTzy" Nepomuceno.

Tristan “Yawi” Cabrera and  former TNC exp laner Frediemar “3MarTzy” Serafico also joined the squad alongside Ashley Marco "Killuash" Cruz.

Other teams seeing action are Bren Esports, Nexplay EVOS, Omega Sports, RSG Philippines, and TNC Pro Team.

MPL PH has yet to reveal as of posting whether Season 9 will be held offline.

—JMB, GMA News