Players spamming the recall--or popularly known as TP (teleport)--button after outplaying the enemy or just straight up taunting them have been a common sight not just in the MPL Philippines but also in other Mobile Legends: Bang Bang leagues.
While some perceive it as a bad behavior or even an unprofessional manner in a professional setup, others see some advantage in doing the "TP-TP" shenanigans.
Take coach Tony "Ynot" Senedrin of Smart Omega and two-time MPL champion tactician Michael Angelo "Arcadia" Bocado of Aura PH for examples.
Although Ynot does not recommend his players to spam recall, he said that he still respects teams such as MPL rookie Work Auster Force that do it frequently to tilt their opponents.
"Ako nire-respect ko 'yung ginagawa ng Work actually, 'yung parang medyo mind games kasi 'yan eh (I respect what Work's doing and it's a sort of mind games). And they're the new kids on the block and that's fine. It's just how you handle things kung ikaw 'yung nasa other side eh (It's just how you handle things when you're on the other side)," said the Dota-turned ML professional in the eighth episode of MPL Chillax hosted by Mara Aquino and caster Uomi.
"It's true na meron ka pang mas importanteng bagay na pwedeng gawin aside from 'yung TP-TP na ganyan, but you know it takes a toll kasi sa mga kalaban if consistent mong nagagawa and you're owning them (It's true that you can do more important things but you know it takes toll on the enemies if you're consistently doing it and you're owning them)," added the esports veteran.
"Now some teams may look at that angle na pwede nilang mapagana pero ako (that they can make it work but for me) personally just play the game."
For his part, Arcadia bared that he initially experienced a sort of culture shock when he saw the recall spamming upon his return in the ML pro scene, but eventually came to understand why players are doing it.
"Meron talagang mga players na na-i-intimidate pagdating sa TP and meron ding mga players na every time na nagti-TP sila, parang nare-relieve 'yung pressure. So parang pang-boost din sa morale nila (There are players who get intimidated and there are some who gets relieved of pressure then they TP)," said the architect of Sunsparks' back-to-back championship runs in Season 5 and 6.
Arcadia, though, stressed that players could miss out on an crucial kill or objective when they go for the recall taunt just like what he experienced two seasons ago when his player failed to get a first blood against the opposing team's core.
Nexplay Esports coach Setsuna "Dogie" Ignacio, who bared that his Aether Main crew were the ones who started the TP spamming back in the inaugural season of the MPL, said that it's just a way of showing that a player has outplayed his opponent without resorting to trash talking on top of being an extra form of entertainment.
"Pangit pero exciting. Lahat ng players sa MPL competitive (It doesn't look good but it's exciting. All the players in MPL are competitive). They want to be the best. They want their team to be the best. They want to stand out. So, hindi mo sila masisisi and ganun talaga 'yun (You cannot blame them and that just how it is)," said Dogie.
MPL rookie mentor Laurence "Lift" Ruiz of Work, meanwhile, cited the event when their jungler Daniel "Chuuu" Chu did the recall celebration after scoring a double kill with his Claude in their match versus Blacklist International.
What happened next was pure disaster as he and Dylan "Unravel" Catipon's Angela were punished by Kiel "OHEB" Soriano's Alice and DJ "Wise" Del Rosario's Granger, and Work lost hold of its massive lead and lost in a decisive Game 3.
Lift though took the blame for that, saying he could have done a better draft. But still, he took the time to mention it to Chuuu.
"In a sense, kailangan talaga baguhin 'yung ganun kasi winnable na pero may pahapyaw pa rin, di naman sermon, pero kumbaga pagsabihan lang. (In a sense, we could make changes to that because that was winnable. So there was still a subtle, not really a lecture, but I just talked to him)."