KUALA LUMPUR: AP Bren of the Philippines has made history, becoming the first team to win two world titles in Mobile Legends: Bang Bang (MLBB).
On Sunday, AP Bren rose to the occasion at the US$900,000 (RM4.2 million) M5 World Championship, edging Indonesia's ONIC eSports 4-3 in an epic final in front of 6,000 offline fans at the Rizal Memorial Coliseum in Manila.
Not only was it a closely contested match between the two Southeast Asian heavyweights, but eSports charts also recorded a new viewership record of 5.06 million.
MLBB fans worldwide were kept at the edge of their seats as both teams reached not one but two epic match points in the final.
AP Bren won their first MLBB world title in Singapore in 2020.
"The final against ONIC was epic," said AP Bren's Francis 'Ducky' Glindro.
"They took advantage of what they could, and we chose heroes that could go up against their picks in the last match."
AP Bren pocketed US$300,000, while ONIC settled for US$120,000.
A wild card competition was held for the first time this year, giving eight teams a chance to be part of the top 16 teams in M5.
Malaysia's Team SMG and Mongolia's Lilgun took the two Wild Card slots in Petaling Jaya last month.
Malaysia will be hosting the sixth edition of the World Championships next year.
This will offer a chance for Malaysian teams to make an impact after HomeBois and Team SMG failed to go beyond the group stage in Manila.
For the record, no Malaysian team have contested in the final.