Cover-Credits:
BloodThirstyKings’ (BTK) EXP Laner, Ian "FwydChickn" Hohl, recently offered his insights on ECHO's performance following the team’s unexpected upset in the World Cyber Games (WCG) 2023 Mobile Legends: Bang Bang (MLBB) event. The North American (NA) pro player shared that the Killer Orcas exhibited their peak potential during the M4 World Championship but subsequently faced a decline in form. FwydChickn acknowledged the challenges of maintaining a dominant performance after triumphing in an international tournament, emphasizing that this pattern is not unique to ECHO alone, but rather a common occurrence among teams that have secured an MLBB world championship title.
Blacklist International maintained its peak better than ECHO, FwydChickn claims
Through a livestream, FwydChickn discussed how ECHO’s Mobile Legends Professional League (MPL) team was defeated by EVOS Icon, an amateur team during the WCG 2023 MLBB Playoffs stage.
While he believes that ECHO will eventually bounce back in future tournaments, he still thinks that the team is currently struggling to adjust to the sudden shift of the meta.
“That’s just what happens with all the champions, is that they fall off after they peak,” said FwydChickn. “It’s hard to maintain that peak”
The BTK veteran compared ECHO’s performance with Blacklist International, claiming that the renowned Codebreakers did a better job at maintaining their momentum than the killer Orcas after winning an international title.
“Blacklist is probably the best at maintaining their peak for that long, they definitely did it the best,” he said. “They’re pretty insane for getting that far, for this long, you know?”
ECHO and its sister-team ECHO Proud were able to make it to the playoffs stage of the WCG 2023 MLBB event. However, the main MPL squad was eliminated by ONIC Overlord with a 2-0 score in the lower bracket semifinal. Its amateur squad, on the other hand, made it to the grand finals only to lose against EVOS Icon in a grueling five-round series.
FwydChickn's analysis sheds light on the complexities of competitive gaming at the highest level, where teams face the challenge of staying at the top after achieving global success. His observation points to the difficulty of maintaining peak performance consistently and the exceptional achievement of Blacklist International in maintaining its prowess despite multiple roster changes.
