MPL PH Season 9 launches 'Lakas ng Pinas' theme

The Mobile Legends: Bang Bang Professional League (MPL) Philippines will unfurl its ninth season with a new battle cry: Lakas ng Pinas.

Drawing inspiration from the M3 World Championships, where two Philippines teams duked it out for the title, the MPL organizers are launching a theme that epitomizes the strength of Filipino esports players.

According to MPL Philippines, the new catchphrase came after Blacklist International and Onic Philippines proved to the world that the country is one of the best, if not the best, MLBB nation in the world.

"Season 9 marks a chapter for many teams, and we are excited to bring back our athletes to demonstrate Lakas ng Pinas, as expertly shown in the M3 World Championship," said MPL Philippines Business Development Manager Matt Jaron. 

"With new players filling in the shoes of our legacy players and with our newest partner, Samsung, we are just as excited as our fans to see how well they perform this season."

Aside from back-to-back MPL champion Blacklist and its rival Onic, also contending for the coveted title are Bren Esports, Echo, Smart Omega, Nexplay EVOS, TNC Pro, and RSG Philippines in the tournament slated to open on February 18.

The highly-anticipated season will feature tweaked playoff formats where the first and third-seeded teams after the regular season will determine which teams slug it out in the first games of the playoffs.

Season 9 will commence from February 18th to April 10, with playoffs kicking off on April 28 to May 1.

—JMB, GMA News