AP.Bren's wild journey to MPL PH Season 12 title

MANILA, Philippines – AP.Bren's win against Blacklist International to take home the Mobile Legends Bang Bang Professional League (MPL) Philippines' Season 12 trophy could have been a different story a few months ago.

MPL Philippines Season 11 saw the team, then Bren Esports, at peak performance, ending the regular season as the top seed and conquering the national qualifiers for the year's Southeast Asian Games and the World Esports Championship. The team, however, suffered a heartbreak as they exited the tournament at third place.

At the season’s conclusion, the organization continued to face issues with their then management, as former CEO Bernard “Bren” Chong was still facing drug smuggling charges, which were filed back in 2022. The charges were eventually dropped in May but by then, the organization had been suffering setbacks.

"It's no secret that we've been running into some issues with our current management. Given the resources we were getting, we had to find a way to consistently support our athletes. I made the decision that we had to find new management to do so," said Leo "Jab" Escutin, the chief operating officer of the organization as they announced that they will be competing under new management, AP.Bren, last July.

"Dumating kami sa punto na we were about to close down," shared AP.Bren coach Francis "Ducky" Glindro in the post-match interview after AP.Bren won the Season 12 trophy. 

He added, "This win is dedicated to Boss Jab kasi hindi niya kami pinabayaan. Kita ko yung paghihirap ni Boss Jab. Sobrang happy ko na nandyan siya at yung sakripisyo niya para sa amin [nabalik namin]."

That they did as they overpowered Blacklist International from the beginning of the best of seven match-up, outmaneuvering the codebreakers with clean execution of macro plays.

But in Game 3, AP.Bren was stunned with Blacklist International's choice of a Kaja jungle.

"Hindi namin ine-expect na kukunin [ng Blacklist] yun. Hindi yun yung go-to pick nila kasi usually ang kinukuha nila is utility fighter, utility tank lang. Kaja is not one of those and na-surprise talaga kami," said coach and analyst Vrendon “Vren” Pesebre during the post-match interview.

The almost 20-minute Game 3 saw Blacklist International deny the sweep, as goldlaner Kiel "Oheb" Soriano ran an almost perfect game with the hero Ixia, scoring 11 kills and posting two assists.

Not wanting to turn the match-up into a series, AP.Bren made quick work of the codebreakers in Game 4, defeating Blacklist International in just 15 minutes to move the Hive to match point.

Game 5 saw a commanding lead on the side of Blacklist International, but a team fight saw four players down on the side of the codebreakers. This gave AP.Bren the signal they needed to march toward the base and win it all.

Though the local season has ended, all eyes are now on the M5 World Championship happening in Manila this December, with Philippine representatives AP.Bren and Blacklist International hoping to break the host country’s curse and win the world championship for the fourth consecutive year.