Major roster changes happen during the off-season – some to scout potential talents in the amateur ranks while others choose to lure players from established teams. On rare occasions, squads go for full revamp, hoping that the facelift would be enough to take the MPL throne.
Rising from ashes in S9
Departures: 3martzy, Kousei, Toshi, Imbadeejay, P-God, Light, Der, Lift (coach)
Additions: Escalera, Yasuwo, Kramm, KingSalman
If there’s one team that will look entirely different from last season, it has to be the TNC Pro Team. From a lineup of nine players, it trimmed down its squad to six with only two players holdovers from the previous squad.
Among the main five from S8, only Daniel “SDzyz” Chuu (formerly Chuuu) remains while former reserve Ben “Benthings” Maglaque took the other spot. All eyes will be on the two, especially Benthings who is making a major leap this season in terms of his role as he assumes the captain position.
Although not much were seen from the rookie quartet of Jomarie “Escalera” Delos Santos, Robee “Yasuwo” Bryan, Mark “Kramm” Rusiana, and Salman “KingSalman” Macarambon during the off-season, their amateur achievements can already speak for what they can do in the Land of Dawn.
Hoping to reclaim lost glory
Departures: Karltzy, Ribo, Ejhay, L3bron, Rimuru, Coco
Additions: Joyboy, Super Marco, Saxa, Pandora, Stowm, Jowm
One of the most dominant teams in the past, Bren Esports was sent crashing down to Earth last season after failing to book a ticket to the playoffs for the first time in its franchise history.
The organization hopes that the new faces it added coming into the new season will be a breath of fresh air that the squad needs to reclaim its lost glory.
The biggest question however will be on how these new faces could alleviate the impact of the departure of stars Karl “Karlytzy” Nepomuceno and CJ “Ribo” Ribo. Rookies Kenneth “Saxa” Fedelin and Vincent “Joy Boy” De Guzman have shown they are more than ready to carry the torch in S9, evident to their Sibol performance.
It remains to be a mystery how they will play alongside the M2 trio of David “Flaptzy” Canon, Alan “Lusty” Castromayor and Angelo “Pheww” Arcangel but with Francis “Duckey” Glindro and Paulo “Pauloxpert” Munsayac at the helm, it wouldn’t be surprising if the squad takes S9 by storm.
New Breed of Big 3
Departures: Yawi, Jeymz, Sanford, AkosiDogie (returned to coaching)
Additions: Donut, Ureshi, MP the King, Elpizo, Cadenza, S4gitnu
Nexplay Evos made a good account of itself in the off-season following its impressive performance in the Sibol qualifiers. It took down the likes of RSG Philippines, Onic Philippines and Omega Esports to get the right of challenging the V33wise-led Blacklist International in the Grand Finals.
In that impressive run, three rookies turned heads for the popular squad which brought the birth of the new generation of NXPE Big 3.
Rainiel “Ureshi” Logronio, Mariusz “Donut” Tan, and Kenneth “Cadenza” Castro all showed promise in their first official run with the team. And that’s only three of the five-man AP esports squad that NXPE signed for S9.
Although John Paul “H2wo” Salonga had shown significant improvement and Renejay “RENEJAY” Barcase is rumored to be taking the roaming role, it would be interesting how the five-man AP Esports team, which already had the chemistry in place, will fare against the top squads in the league.
ECHO made the loudest off-season move
Departures: Aspect, Invoker, Flysolo, Jaymeister, Dale (coach)
Additions: Karltzy, Yawi, 3martzy, Killuash
One way of bolstering the squad aside from the tapping amateur standouts is by acquiring bonafide stars in the league – a route which ECHO took to form arguably the strongest team on paper in MPL Season 9.
True to its battlecry, ECHO made the biggest signings in the off-season with the acquisition of a couple of big names in Karltzy, Tristan “Yawi” Cabrera and Frediemar “3martzy” Serafico. And if that’s not enough, the squad also welcomed Ashley Marco “Killuash” Cruz back to its lineup.
Add that to the already potent core of Christian “Rafflesia” Fajura, Benedict “BennyQT” Gonzales and Aaron Mark “Hadess” Lazaro, the Orcas are poised to make a splash in S9.
The ‘superteam’ lineup certainly gave coach Michael Angelo “Arcadia” Bocado a bevy of big names to experiment and explore his lineup on.
However, after failing to leave a mark in the Sibol qualifiers where it got eliminated by RSG PH in the Phase 1, one lingering question needs to be answered: Can these superstars co-exist with each other?