CJ “Ribo” Ribo is out of the Bren Esports roster for the MPL Philippines Season 9 as the veteran sidelaner decided to take a break from the professional scene.
Ribo, who was regarded as one of the winningest players in the MLBB pro scene after winning multiple titles in almost every level, announced on his Facebook post that he intends to temporarily step away from the limelight for the upcoming Season 9.
“Pahinga muna isang season sa MPL. Good luck,” said the veteran sideliner who started his career with Aether Main in Season 1 before playing his entire eight season career under the banner of Bren Esports.
The pride of Imus, Cavite collected a good number of trophies during his eight seasons in the pro scene – none bigger than the M2 World Championship title which he and Bren Esports had won last year in a nail-biting 4-3 victory in the Grand Finals against Burmese Ghouls.
Ribo was best remembered for his Harith in that Game 7 duel where he scored a double kill in the final clash to lift the PH bets to the apex of the MLBB esports scene.
Aside from the world championship, he is also a two-time MPL PH champion after winning the title in Season 1 with Aether Main and in Season 6 with Bren. He is a two-time The Nationals champion, a Mobile Legends Southeast Asia Cup titlist and a winner of multiple international competitions in Southeast Asia Cyber Arena, the Challenger Summit, and the Razer Southeast Asia Invitational.
And to cap off the long list of accolades, Ribo has also won a gold medal in the Southeast Asian Games held in the country in 2019.
Ribo has also played in all of the five positions throughout his career before settling as the Bren’s gold laner in the recent seasons.
His team’s performance however spiraled down after winning the M2 championship which resulted to disappointing finishes in the MPL PH Seasons 7 and 8.
The Season 8’s last place finish prompted Bren Esports to break its M2 winning roster, releasing top jungler Karl “Karltzy” Nepomuceno to free agency before he was signed by ECHO in December.
With Ribo out of the S9 roster, only three players from the M2 title-winning roster remain with the squad. Allan “Lusty” Castromayor, Charles David “Flaptzy” Canon and Angelo “Phewww” Arcangel were the M2 champions left in the squad.