Lineup:
Erwin "Yakou" Magno
Arvin "Arvs" Bacayan
Nowee "Ryota" Macasa
Joshua "Aspect" Tating
Jay "JAKE THE DOG" Lapitan
Paul Ian "Beemo" Sergio
Coach: Brian "Panda" Lim
Season 6 finish: N/A (Season 7 Qualifier)
Holdovers: N/A
Departures" N/A
Additions: N/A
Hopes are high on newcomer Laus Playbook Esports come the MPL Philippines Season 7 and it's because Brian "Panda" Lim is the coach of the team.
Panda was a key cog of the coaching staff that steered national esports team Sibol to historic gold medal in the 2019 SEA Games with a thrilling 3-2 victory over powerhouse Indonesia.
The South Korean mentor guided ArkAngel to the MPL-PH Season 3 championship as well.
Laus Playbook also has the veteran sixth man Erwin "Yakou" Magno, who was part of the Season 2 champion team Cignal Ultra that denied inaugural Aether Main/Bren Esports back-to-back titles.
Completing the squad are promising talents in Arvin "Arvs" Bacayan (mage), Nowee "Ryota" Macasa (offlaner/EXP laner), Joshua "Aspect" Tating (jungler/core), Jay "JAKE THE DOG" Lapitan (gold laner) and Ian "Beemo" Sergio (tank).
LPE came through with a Cinderella run from the lower bracket in the Season 7 Main Qualifiers held last January.
After suffering a 2-0 sweep at the hands of first qualifier Work Auster Force in the first round of the qualifiers, LPE took down the veteran-laden ULVL (2-1), Empire Monarch (2-1) and the heavily-favored Aether Main (2-0) before getting the shot at the MPL spot against Panda's former team ArkAngel.
Panda and his boys had their backs pushed against the wall as ArkAngel drew first blood in the all-important lower bracket finals series.
But JAKE THE DOG's Wanwan allowed LPE to force a decider before his Claude joined forces with Arvs' Luo Yi to clinch the last seat in Moonton's professional league.
With his team heading to the big stage, Panda can't wait to see how his young team will progress against the creams of the crop of Philippine pro Mobile Legends scene.
"I am excited to see how the trees that I planted will grow further and curious to see the results of the harvest," he said in a long post a few days after making it back to the MPL.
Can coach Panda take the LPE Eagles to greater heights?