For the longest time, Omega Esports has established itself as one of the best up-and-coming teams in the Mobile Legends: Bang Bang Professional League.
Omega Esports has been at the upper side of the power rankings ever since Season Four, but the team has yet to live up to its full potential.
Then came Season Six.
With the vast improvements coming from Salic “Hadjizy” Imam and Adrian “Toshi” Bacallo, Omega Esports sent out a statement to the league and proved that they can be a legitimate threat to the championship.
After placing second in Group B, the Smart-backed squad wreaked havoc in the playoffs. Omega booted out Blacklist International and Execration, respectively, to face BREN Esports in a best-of-seven grand finale.
Despite dropping the series after six grueling games, Omega Esports showed so much promise in the finals.
With that, they have finally proved that the hype is real.
Omega Esports looks to sustain its impressive run in time for the ONE Esports Mobile Legends: Bang Bang Professional League Invitational.
Keeping it tight
Omega Esports liked what they saw in the recent MPL-Philippines season that the organization decided to keep its roster intact moving forward.
After all, it was in Season Six where most of their players reached their respective primes.
Hadjizy made a case for himself as one of the top core players in the country today. He earned the nickname ‘The KDA Machine’ after ending the season with a KDA of 9.49 — the best in the league.
The former EVOS member also came in second to former teammate and now BREN Esports superstar KarlTzy to the MVP plum.
Toshi and Jankurt “KurTzy” Matira also made noise in the previous season. The former even rose as one of the top candidates for the All-MPL team.
On the other hand, the veteran duo of Jeniel “Haze” Bata-anon and EJ “Heath” Esperanza proved to be as consistent as ever, providing a strong support system for the three names mentioned above.
The only question mark for the team will be Kenneth Jiane “Kenji” Villa, who had to deal with personal problems earlier in the season which somehow regressed his performance and relegated him to the sixth man position.
Tough stand
Early on in the MPL Invitational champion’s draft, RRQ Hoshi coach James “Jamesss” Chen has already made it known that they will be drafting the best teams for their bracket.
And to no surprise, Omega Esports was nabbed by the reigning MPL-Indonesia champions with the second pick in the third round, putting them in the bracket of death which has the likes of M1 World Champion EVOS Legends and MPL-Indonesia grand finalist Alter Ego.
Smart Omega will be going up against one of the best teams in MPL-Indonesia in Genflix Aerowolf.
Genflix Aerowolf ended Season Six with a respectable 5th-6th place finish after being swept by eventual third placer Bigetron Alpha in the first round of the playoffs.
And with Watt out of the roster, Aerowolf promoted developmental league players Bottle and Jacklee to the roster.
Omega Esports’ methodical approach to the game will surely give problems to a relatively new Genflix Aerowolf side.
And while chemistry will not be a problem for Omega Esports, shot calling and communication will be one of the few factors that can hinder their campaign just like what happened in the MPL-Philippines grand finals.
Playing in a big stage like this is very new to most of Omega’s players. Luckily for them, they have one of the most decorated players internationally on their side.
During his time with Aether Main and BREN Esports, Haze was able to nab numerous international championships in the Mobile Legends Southeast Asia Cup, Southeast Asia Cyber Arena, and Challenger Summit.
He also won gold for the Philippines in the 30th Southeast Asian Games along with Kenji.
Omega Esports pretty much has the upper hand in this series, but Haze’s presence on and off the screen will be their strongest weapon come the ONE Esports MPL Invitational.
Omega Esports will be showing the world the #OmegaNON way when they face Genflix Aerowolf on Saturday at 8:45 p.m. in the ONE Esports MPL Invitational.
