MPL Philippines Season 9 champion RSG Philippines will be tested against formidable foes in the opening day of the Mobile Legend Southeast Asia Cup (MSC) 2022 on Saturday, June 11.
The Filipino titlist led by regular season MVP Dylan “Light” Catipon and Finals MVP Nathanael “Nathzz” Crisologo open its campaign against the Cambodians representatives See You Soon at 1:30 p.m. (Manila Time) and sister team RSG Singapore at 7:30 p.m.
Group stage matches will be a best-of-two affair with the team winning via sweep getting full three points across the board while a tie would only merit a point.
Although pegged as the heavy favorite of the tournament, RSG remained wary of its opponents especially with See You Soon being seen as one of the dark horses and RSG SG winning the MPL Singapore title in a convincing 4-1 win against EVOS SG which held its own against the Blacklist Sibol MLBB team in the Southeast Asian Games.
Also playing as a factor for RSG is the absence of coach Brian “Panda” Lim in the venue as he handed the coaching reins to his deputy Karl “Giee” Barientos for the tournament.
Meanwhile, Omega Esports begins its title-retention bid on Day 2 as last MSC MVP Duane “Kelra” Pillas and veterans Patrick “E2max” Caidic and Joshua “Ch4knu” Mangilog face early acid tests in the group stage.
Omega battles Thai team IDNS Esports at 12 noon before taking on Indonesian powerhouse RRQ Hoshi in the titanic clash at 6 p.m.
Only the top two teams of the group stage will advance to the playoffs set on Tuesday, June 14.