EVOS SG has just announced the departure of their long-term mage player Robert “Oh Deer Bambi” Boon. After 671 days, winning multiple trophies with the squad, he’ll be taking off the blue and white jersey. The news seemed unexpected considering EVOS SG didn’t look like they were struggling as a team - they did place fourth at the most recent MPL-MY/SG Playoffs. No reason has been made public yet, but here's what they had to say:
“It's been a long journey since 2018 with Bambi. Through high and lows we walked as one, through thick and thin we braved obstacles together. It wasn't an easy decision, but we will have to announce that Oh Deer Bambi will no longer be with EVOS SG.
We would like to take some time to highlight Bambi's contribution to EVOS and all the best old friend! Thank you Bambi.”
Official statement from the team's Facebook Page
“And that’s the end! Thank you @evosesports for this amazing journey. And thank you @ivantoxiceo for believing in me from the start”
Oh Deer Bambi's Instagram post
As of now, there's no word on where Oh Deer Bambi will be headed to, or who his replacement will be. Stay tuned to eGG Network for more news and updates about the Mobile Legends Bang Bang esports scene!
After last week’s exciting Mobile Legends: Bang Bang Professional League MY/SG (MPL-MY/SG) Season 5 Grand Finals match between Resurgence and Geek Fam, where the former took out the Malaysian favorites 3-1, we had a chat with members from both teams to give us an insight into their squads and strategy. From Geek Fam, Mohamad Zul "Xorn" Hisham, the team’s multirole player; and Resurgence, Eugene "Kayzeepi" Kong Zhen Pang, the team’s captain.
Xorn: My team and I felt very happy to have advanced to the grand finals. As for our mindset, we tried to maintain a positive attitude in the grand finals.
Kayzeepi: We were very happy after beating Orange clean but within 10 seconds we had reset our mentality and started discussing our strategy against Geekfam. We made sure everyone was familiar with what they needed to do, “what if?” scenarios, and so on. The team went all out for the last series. We told each other to stay focused and take it one game at a time.
Xorn: Yup, I feel that way because Resurgence is not a team that can be looked down upon.
Kayzeepi: Yes, definitely. We knew it was not going to be an easy final, especially because Geek Fam beat us 2-0 during the upper winner bracket finals.
Xorn: We focused on our own strategies, so we would be able to commit to what we planned to do regardless of the situation. Rotations are the key to victory.
Kayzeepi: We did not have a detailed strategy or a strategy to counter them but our thought process at that point was to play at our best mentally, as it was the last series of the tournament. Evidently, it worked out for us in the end. We took the game one baby step at a time throughout the series.
Xorn: No, we weren't surprised because we’ve studied our opponents' gameplay closely in the past.
Kayzeepi: Yes. Their players are very flexible with their heroes at a very high gameplay level.
Xorn: In my own view, the 4th game wasn't about winning or losing at the draft. It was all because of the pressure we faced in the grand finals series. During the game, when we could no longer focus, that's when I felt it was over.
Kayzeepi: Any draft can win any game. Draft definitely gives you a higher chance but we didn’t win the game through the draft. We won it through our focused gameplay, and good teamwork.
Xorn: We were a little aggrieved that we could not be champions for the second time, but at the same time, we were pleased with the outcome as it will motivate us for a stronger comeback.
Kayzeepi: I think it was very fast paced for both sides. Whichever side made the wrong decision first would lose the teamfight and eventually be behind in gold. We focused on overcoming this as players and as a team.
Xorn: The lesson that I think is most important is that we need to learn how to control or manage stress, pressure, and emotions in the grand finals.
Kayzeepi: Staying focused, and adapting to the quick changes to the game's meta is a very essential skill when playing competitively.
Xorn: For the Geek Fam team, nothing has changed for us because we’ve always been at or near the gaming house. Our training schedule stayed the same.
Kayzeepi: Usually, during the regular season we will meet up and play the game, and talk to each other, which would help to improve our team synergy. However, with the MCO (Movement Control Order) being implemented, we played at our individual homes and communicated through Discord, which meant we could only hear one person speaking at any point.
Xorn: For our upcoming tournament, the team will come more prepared to win it!
Kayzeepi: I believe this tournament has strengthened us in not just our game skills. It also taught us that anything can happen during the playoffs. So, it is a good stepping stone on how we can do well against other teams internationally.
Xorn: Geek Fam will continue training hard and will continue to be formidable rivals in our upcoming tournaments. As long as our supporters don’t give up on us and keep supporting us, we will also never give up trying to give our best in every tournament!
Kayzeepi: We would like to thank everybody who stuck with us and had faith in us to lift the trophy. We wouldn’t have the determination if it was not for you guys. As a representative of Resurgence, we are grateful to have your support.
The future remains bright for these two teams, and we're sure they'll cross paths again very soon. Many thanks to Resurgence Kayzeepi and Geek Fam Xorn for taking the time to participate in this interview. Stay tuned to eGG Network for more Mobile Legends: Bang Bang coverage!
An on-form Resurgence stomped to a 3-1 grand final victory after defeating Orange Esports Reborn earlier in the day. With the win, Jason, ly4ly4ly4 and SynC become the first players to be crowned two-time MPL-MY/SG champions.
Geek Fam started the game well, but their overconfidence led to mistakes which Resurgence capitalised. The Singaporean team's line-up had too much burst damage in Jason's Pharsa and SynC's Gusion. These damage dealers were supported by the durability of Kayzeepi's Atlas and Sana's Thamuz.
Xorn's Chou had little impact in the game as he couldn't even get close to RSG's back lines. Without a proper gap-closer against Pharsa, Geek Fam were helpless as RSG marched into their and ended the game in 12 minutes.
Geek Fam allowed Natalia to escape the banning phase despite Resurgence's known proficiency on the hero. But that may have been a smart move as they snapped up Atlas and Chou in the first phase.
Xorn's Atlas made brilliant crowd control initiations which ensured most teamfights went their way.
The Malaysians found their groove and Jason's Natalia was effectively shut down. Ozoraveki's Terizla and Xorn's Atlas made plenty of clutch plays as they won most of the game's teamfights. Resurgence held on valiantly, but Geek Fam managed to end the game in 19 minutes.
Geek Fam vs Resurgence Game 3 draft.
Resurgence started the game strongly but after Geek Fam claimed the first turtle at minute 5, the Season 3 champions gradually pulled slightly ahead. By the 10th minute, the kill score was 7-8 in favour of RSG, but Geek Fam had a 3k gold lead.
However, Resurgence managed to secure the first Lord and Geek Fam tried to take a fight outside their base, but lost four members and their top inhibitor turret. Geek Fam took another bad teamfight around the 13 and a half-minute mark which allowed Resurgence to storm through the top lane to lead the series 2-1.
With their tournament lives at stake, Geek Fam opted for a surprising Minsitthar pick for Xorn. Resurgence, on the other hand, snapped up Kaja - the most banned hero of the Playoffs. Resurgence showed the strength of the hero as they dominated the game from start to finish.
It was clear that Geek Fam was outclassed in the grand final. Their draft was poor and their performance lacklustre. We're not sure why this was the case because they played extremely well on the first and second day of the Playoffs.
In the post-match interview, Kayzeepi had mad respect for Geek Fam, saying that they had a good grand final series and he hopes to see them again in the next season.
Ozoraveki also shared that their final game draft was a disappointment despite wanting to shake things up.
Sana
Jason was actually in tears
ly4ly4ly4
Kayzeepi
Sync
With the win, Resurgence took home US$25,000. ly4ly4ly4 earned the title of grand final MVP, and an additional US$1,000 under his belt.
ly4ly4ly4 was awarded the grand final MVP.
MPL-MY/SG Season 5 was organised by eGG Network.
Orange Esports Reborn's surprising Playoffs run finally came to an end after losing 2-0 to Resurgence. The young Malaysian team who stunned fans with wins over Axis Esports, Team Bosskurr and defending champions EVOS SG finish the Playoffs an impressive third.
However, Resurgence proved too strong for the dark horses of the Playoffs. The Singaporean powerhouse dispatched Orange Esports Reborn in two quick games, the first took only 10:50 minutes whereas Game 2 lasted 12 minutes.
Game 1 post-match statistics.
Game 2 post-match statistics.
The series was extremely one-sided, with Resurgence recording a perfect game with no deaths in the first game. Although ly4ly4ly4 earned the majority of the kills for his team, SynC's performance was noteworthy for his flexibility in adjusting his picks for the team. He played Uranus in Game 1 and Silvanna in Game 2, both of which were not his comfort mid lane picks.
Orange Esports Reborn fought valiantly in both games, but were simply outclassed by a superior team. Despite the loss, they can surely hold their heads high for reaching the later stages of the tournament.
Resurgence will next meet an on-form Geek Fam who had defeated them 2-0 in the upper bracket final. Players on both teams have the opportunity to become MPL-MY/SG's first two-time champions. Who do you think will emerge victorious?
MPL-MY/SG Season 5 is organised by eGG Network. Watch the matches live on our Facebook page.
Many Malaysian MLBB fans thought that this could be Team Bosskurr's year. They underwent a major roster shuffle, and despite having a rough start, they managed to finished fourth in the Regular Season.
At the Playoffs, they put up a valiant upper bracket showing against league leaders Resurgence and could have won the closely-contested series. Nevertheless, they lost and dropped into the lower bracket as they faced a confident Orange Esports Reborn who eliminated Season 2 champions Axis Esports on Day 1.
Bosskurr started the day with Leixia in red-hot form. His Karrie on Game 1 was phenomenal, recording a 9/0/3 KDA record. Syno's Uranus and Zaraki's Chou were also influential in creating space and initiating teamfights which allowed Leixia to carry the team to victory.
The second game went in the favour of underdogs Orange Esports Reborn, as they drafted Eren's Ling and Mal's Wanwan. This line-up was almost a carbon copy of their Game 1 draft against Axis Esports yesterday.
Their early game pressure proved devastating and they successfully shut down Leixia. All in all, Orange Esports Reborn regained their confidence and were fully in control of the game.
With the tie poised, Team Bosskurr took a risk with their Game 3 draft, going for an early game Kimmy as they sought to focus on taking down objectives. However, Orange Esports Reborn also took a similar approach to the game and was more effective in chunking down towers.
Team Bosskurr might have bowed out of Season 5, but they've shown that as a squad in a rebuilding process, they have the potential to come back stronger.
With the victory, Orange Esports Reborn progress to the next round to play the victor of Todak vs EVOS SG.
MPL-MY/SG Season 5 is organised by eGG Network. Watch the matches live on our Facebook page.
The MPL-MY/SG Season 5 Playoffs started with the first two lower bracket matches between Orange Esports Reborn and Axis Esports, and between Team SMG and Todak.
In the first series, the Mal-inspired Orange Esports Reborn eliminated Season 2 champions Axis Esports in a 2-0 scoreline. In the second series, Todak were dominant as they also took down Team SMG 2-0 thanks to superior drafting and teamfighting.
In Game 1, Orange Esports Reborn came out with guns blazing, leading right from the get-go with Eren's Ling and Mom's Jawhead pressuring the map early. However, Axis Esports came back into the game thanks to Loong's Selena Abyssal Arrows and Rynn's on-fire Harith. KaizerX, though in an unfamiliar Marksman role on the Roger, played well.Despite leading the kill score, Orange Esports made a next-level play which completely turned the game back into their favour. In a fight near the Lord pit, Orange sacrificed two members to allow Mal's Wanwan to split-push both the top and middle lanes and destroyed two inhibitor towers. Cakbu's Pharsa later stored Lord under Axis's noses and from there, it was game over.
Game 2 was a more one-sided affair. In the 11-minute victory, Orange Esports dominated from the start. They lose none of their towers and KaizerX's Roger wasn't impactful. The standout player for Orange was arguably Mom, whose Jawhead performances in both games was instrumental to securing their place in the second round of the lower bracket.
SMG followed Axis Esports' unsuccessful playback by picking one of Smooth's favourite hero: Roger. Although the hero worked out well in the early stages of Game 1, he gradually fell off as Todak.Ciku's Claude became more farmed.
Todak's heavy front liners - Eone's Atlas and Nenas' Uranus - were able to withstand the majority SMG's damage. Collectively, both players tanked 66% of SMG's damage output. That gave Moon's Pharsa and Ciku's Claude the space and time to shred SMG.
Nenas' Uranus and Eone's Atlas salvaging a teamfight gone wrong.
In Game 2, SMG, with their tournament lives on the line, threw a curveball by drafting a last-pick Hanzo - a hero which has not seen play at all this season. Todak, on the other hand, opted for a more conventional draft.
Whereas SMG had the early kill lead, by the 5th minute, Todak had already claimed four outer towers. Smooth's Hanzo failed to meaningfully impact the game with a 1/0/3 KDA score. Todak wrapped up the game in 12 minutes to advance to the next round.
In the upper bracket matches later today, Resurgence will take on Team Bosskurr while Geek Fam will face EVOS SG.
MPL-MY/SG Season 5 is organised by eGG Network. Watch the matches live on our Facebook page.
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