MPL-Philippines Season 6 champion Bren Epro/Esports seeks to win another crown as it begins its title-retention campaign in The Nationals Season 2 Mobile Legends: Bang Bang conference on Saturday.
Bren takes on the Happy Feet Emperors side bannered by Cong TV's Team Payaman at 4 p.m. with the hopes of getting a winning start in the P1.5 million tournament.
MPL MVP Karl Gabriel "KarlTzy" Nepomuceno, Angelo Kyle "Pheww" Arcangel, David "FlapTzy" Canon, CJ "Ribo" Ribo and EJ "Ejhay" Sambrano lead the charge for the black and yellow squad.
With Allan "Lusty" Castromayor taking a break, Mico "Coco" Sampang returns to the lineup.
After fielding in an all-female team in the Dota 2 conference, Bren continues to break gender barrier in the male-dominated esports scene as it introduces Bren Victress captain Colleen "Kolin" Cruz in the main team.
Bren, then composed of the core players of Sunsparks, denied PLDT-Smart Omega a grand slam after ruling the Season 1 Finale via a nail-biting 3-2 victory.
Crowding Bren and HFE in the tourney that boasts the highest prize pool in the league's young history are MPL runner-up Omega, Cignal Ultra Warriors, Laus Auto Group Playbook Esports and STI eOlympians.
Teams are set to play in a double round robin elimination round, with the top four squads punching their tickets to the playoffs.