Yahoo News MLBB: Team SMG, Team Lilgun qualify for M5 World Championship Group Stage through the Wildcard
Malaysia's Team SMG and Mongolia's Team Lilgun outlasted six other teams in the three-day preliminary phase to advance to the M5 World Championship Group Stage.
The Mobile Legends: Bang Bang (MLBB) M5 World Championship concluded its Wildcard Stage on Sunday (26 November) in Selangor, Malaysia.
Malaysia's Team SMG and Mongolia's Team Lilgun outlasted six other teams in the tournament's three-day preliminary phase to advance to the M5 World Championship Group Stage.
The Wildcard began with a group stage that split the eight teams into two groups of four teams each and pit them into a single round robin with best-of-three matches. The Top 2 teams of each group will advance to the Wildcard Crossover Matches, where the winners would advance to the Group Stage proper, while the losers would be eliminated.
Group A included Team SMG, Laos' Niightmare Esports, Saudi Arabia's Team Falcons, and Nepal's 4Merical Esports. Meanwhile, Group B featured Team Lilgun, Argentina's Imperio, Russia's Umbrella Squad, and China's KeepBest Gaming.
How did the M5 World Championship Wildcard Stage go?
SMG claimed the first seed of Group A with a 6-2 record while Niightmare finished second with a 5-3 record. Lilgun topped Group B with a 6-3 record while Imperio came in second with a 5-2 record.
As a result, the Crossover Matches pit SMG against Imperio and Lilgun against Niightmare in two best-of-five showdowns for spots in the M5 Group Stage.
The first Crossover Match saw SMG get off to a hot start by quickly taking a 2-0 series lead after a 21-minute game one and a 10-minute stomp in game two. Imperio bounced back in game three with a 12-minute win, but SMG routed them in a 14-minute game four to advance to the M5 Group Stage.
The second Crossover Match between Lilgun and Niightmare ended in a sound 3-0 sweep for the Mongolian squad. Games one and two both lasted 15 minutes while Niightmare managed to draw out game three to 26 minutes before ultimately conceding the series sweep.
With their victory in the Wildcard Stage, SMG and Lilgun have guaranteed themselves at least a 13th-16th place finish as well as US$15,000 in winnings.
SMG and Lilgun now join AP.Bren and Blacklist International from the Philippines, ONIC Esports and Geek Fam ID from Indonesia, RRQ Akira and Bigetron Sons from Brazil, HomeBois from Malaysia, Team Flash from Singapore, See You Soon from Cambodia, Burmese Ghouls from Myanmar, Triple Esports from Saudi Arabia, Deus Vult from Russia, Fire Flux Esports from Turkey, TheOhioBrothers from the United States in the M5 Group Stage.
SMG will be joining Blacklist International, Fire Flux Esports, and RRQ Akira in Group B while Lilgun has been seeded into Group C alongside AP.Bren, Team Flash, and Burmese Ghouls.
Meanwhile, Imperio, Niightmare Esports, Team Falcons, Umbrella Squad, 4Merical Esports, and KeepBest Gaming all fail to make it to the M5 World Championship proper and will take US$10,000 in consolation.
The M5 World Championship's main event will be hosted in the Philippines from 2 to 17 December.
The Group Stage will take place from 2 to 7 December at the EVM Convention Center in Metro Manila. It will see the 16 teams divided into four groups of four teams each, where they will compete in a single round robin with best-of-three matches. The Top 2 teams from each group will advance to the Knockout Stage while the bottom two teams will be eliminated.
Meanwhile, the Knockout Stage will be held in two stages. The first phase will take place in the EMV Convention Center from 9 to 12 December while the second phase will be hosted in the Rizal Memorial Coliseum from 15 to 17 December.
For everything you need to know about the M5 World Championship, check here.
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