ECHO changed its lineup shortly after revealing its official roster for the 2023 Mobile Legends: Bang Bang Southeast Asia Cup on Wednesday.
The reigning MPL and world champion apologized for the confusion, stating that they had discovered some discrepancies in the tournament requirements that forced them to make a sudden change.
“We would like to announce some changes to our MSC roster and apologize for any confusion caused by our earlier post,” said ECHO in a Facebook post.
The statement continued, “Discrepancies have been discovered in the tournament requirements, and as a result, we will be sending the following players for the upcoming MSC 2023 instead.”
ECHO had previously announced that MDL players Justine “Zaida” Palma and Jaypee “Jaypee” Dela Cruz would reinforce their main lineup in the regional meet. However, only players who were part of the roster in the qualifying tournament (MPL PH Season 11) are eligible to play in the MSC.
Therefore, the MPL PH Season 11 champions decided to tap Jian Cedric “Jian” Magtibay as their reserve player.
The main five players, Karl “KarlTzy” Nepomuceno, Benedict “Bennyqt” Gonzales, Tristan “Yawi” Cabrera, Sanford “Sanford” Vinuya, and Alston “Sanji” Pabico, will lead the team in their quest to become the first team to win both an M-series title and an MSC crown.
A similar situation occurred with the North American squad BloodThirstyKings, who tried to replace two players due to passport issues. However, Team Outplay secured the spot since the NACT champion couldn’t gather enough players from their original roster to participate in the MSC.
The MSC will be held in Phnom Penh, Cambodia, from June 10 to 18.
