MPL PH Season 9 Reveals New Rules for Playoffs Seeding and Assistant Coaches

Moonton has released a new set of rules for the upcoming Mobile Legends: Bang Bang Professional League (MPL) Philippines (PH) Season 9. This new set of rules was revealed through the official social media handles of the MPL PH. The rules will be implemented in the upcoming season and shall completely change how the teams will be seeded in the playoffs stage. Another rule will also be implemented in the MPL PH Season 9 which allows the participating teams to field assistant coaches. However, only one head coach and one assistant coach may be active during each drafting phase within the tournament.

The playoffs seed of the MPL PH Season 9 will now be decided by the top teams

According to the official post made by the MPL PH, the first and third-placed teams in the regular season will have the advantage of deciding which teams "will face each other" in the first two games of the playoffs stage.

After the conclusion of the regular season, the topmost team will set the playoff placements for the third and fourth teams. The team that is ranked third in the regular season rankings will decide the playoffs placements for the fifth and sixth teams from the regular season.

Teams can now have up to three assistant coaches in the MPL PH Season 9

A new rule has also been implemented allowing each team to field up to three assistant coaches and one head coach. This opens up a lot of opportunities for teams to brainstorm and brew strategies.

In the event that the head coach is unavailable, one of the assistant coaches can serve as a substitute. One such example was during the previous season, when Nexplay EVOS’ head coach John Michael “Zico” Dizon was rushed to the hospital amidst the tournament due to health problems.

While the team can have up to three assistant coaches, only one assistant coach is allowed to help the head coach during drafting phases.

The new playoffs rule will definitely incentivize teams to aim for the top three placements in the regular season other than just aiming to qualify for the playoffs. Being placed first and third will provide a lot of advantage for the teams as they get to decide who they want to fight in the first few rounds of the playoffs stage in the MPL PH Season 9.