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Rex Regum Qeon Indonesia’s (RRQ ID) former team captain Rivaldi "R7" Fatah shared his thoughts on why teams from the Philippines (PH) are currently stronger than Indonesian (ID) teams in the Mobile Legends: Bang Bang (MLBB) esports scene. According to R7, PH teams are much more open to exploring various strategies, allowing them to discover their own identity and meta. Teams from Indonesia, on the other hand, prefer sticking to the proven and tested meta which may have made them quite predictable. R7 claims that no matter how disciplined a team may be, simply following a “textbook” approach in matches is no longer enough to win MLBB tournaments.
R7 is an inactive player on RRQ’s roster. The pro player announced that he would go on an indefinite hiatus in order to take care of his health.
R7 explains why PH teams are performing better than ID teams
Through a YouTube series titled “EMPETALK” by Jonathan Liandi, RRQ Indonesia’s iconic veteran R7 explained why PH teams have been dominating the MLBB esports scene these past few years.
According to the seasoned player, teams are currently following the “Improvisation Moment” where they take control of either the early or late game in order to prevent a well-disciplined team from gaining momentum in the mid-game.
“I just recently noticed it, so it like happened the first time in MSC [2022], this kind of improvisation from RSG [PH], the one who slaughtered us [RRQ] 4-0,” stated R7.
He further elaborated that this also happened between ECHO and Blacklist International in the M4 World Championship where the defending champion suffered an upsetting 0-4 loss against the renowned House of Highlights.
“That means, as disciplined as you can be, if you are late to adapt, late to improve, you’re gonna get eaten up anyway,” stated Jonathan Liandi to which R7 agreed.
Why PH teams adjust faster than ID teams, according to R7
During major MLBB esports events, teams from the Philippines have shown to be one of the first teams to be able to adjust or even build their own meta. R7 discussed why PH teams have always been one step ahead of other teams in tournaments.
“For PH, I think they are [not afraid] to do something compared to ID teams,” explained the seasoned pro player.
He further elaborated that in scrims, it is important to learn something rather than always aim to win by following the same strategy. He mentioned Geek Fam’s (now known as Geek Slate) Filipino import Allen "Baloyskie" Baloy as an example of how teams and players are not afraid to take risks and try something out during the MLBB Professional League Invitational (MPLI) 2022.
“I’ve seen some willing to try some stuff. That time was from Geek Fam when they played against Blacklist,” said R7. “People often say to just keep hitting and hitting them, in reality, it does make sense… all five of them are brave.”
“When Baloy shotcalled, all of them go at it. But if Baloy failed, of course, they all failed and if it works, it works, just like that,” he added.
According to R7, those are the qualities fans often see in PH teams who are always pushing themselves to their limits and even go as far as to explore outside their comfort zone, similar to ECHO’s Karl "KarlTzy" Nepomuceno who is known to be an Assassin jungler but has shifted to using tank heroes.
