Coach Duckey Explains That The No Ban Strategy in MPL PH Season 8 Was Not Disrespectful

Bren Esports’ head coach Francis "Duckey" Glidro shares his thoughts on the recently concluded Mobile Legends: Bang Bang Professional League (MPL) Philippines (PH) Season 8. The head coach stated that he was a little disappointed with the team’s performance this season. However, he and his team will focus on improving the team in the next season by learning from the mistakes made during the MPL PH Season 8. The coach also addressed the controversial “no ban strategy” that Bren Esports used during its final match against Blacklist International. The coach stated that it is a legit strategy and they meant no disrespect to their opponent when using it.

Duckey clarifies that they don’t mean to disrespect by doing the “no ban strategy” against Blacklist International

Through a video posted on the official Bren Esports YouTube channel, Duckey explained that the no-ban strategy that they pulled off during their final match against Blacklist International in the regular season of MPL PH Season 8 was a legit strategy.

According to the coach, there wasn’t much at stake during the match so he thinks it can’t be considered disrespectful.

“It was a nonbearing match, so I don’t think it was disrespect,” stated Duckey. “All the players in that particular game were actually part of the roster. It’s just fair enough for them to actually play.”

Duckey further explained that based on what he saw in the match, his team played to the best of their abilities. According to him, the “no ban strategy” is used by other types of mobile MOBA esports titles.

During the final week of the regular season of the MPL PH Season 8, Bren Esports was met with backlash due to not banning any heroes during the drafting phase against Blacklist International. The fans took this as a sign that the M2 World Champions were not taking the match seriously and are trolling which is against the MPL PH rulebook.

However, according to Duckey, his team was granted permission by MPL PH officers to execute their drafting strategy.

Duckey shares his insights on the MPL PH Season 8

During the MPL PH Season 7, Duckey stated that his team does not need an Analyst. His reason is that analysts will share their analysis online and people can just watch it for free. However, since the acquisition of the team’s very own Analyst Paulo “Pauloxpert” Munsayac, Duckey realized the importance of having more people to help out in improving the team.

“One of the things we learned this season is that the more people, the more eyes looking to our gameplays, it definitely helps,” stated Duckey.

He also stated that ONIC PH is the toughest competitor they had this season due to their unique strategy.

“They (ONIC PH) have their own strategy which is different from all the other Filipino teams that made a bootleg copy of Blacklist’s (International) strategy,” stated Duckey.

According to the coach, ONIC PH has its own identity and strategy which made it hard for Bren Esports to prepare for. Despite praising ONIC PH, Duckey believes that Blacklist International is the perfect representative for the Philippines in the M3 World Championship.

“For the Philippines, it’s definitely going to be Blacklist (International),” stated Duckey.

Duckey added that it will be interesting to see Indonesia’s finest going against the Philippines’ finest teams considering how much of a polar opposite the meta is for the two regions.

The coach stated that for now, the Bren Esports squad will be taking a break and return to pro play when the dust settles. Fans can look forward to a much more refined Bren Esports in the next year’s MPL PH Season 9.