AP.Bren starts M5 campaign with beating of Burmese Ghouls

The Philippines' AP.Bren made quick work of Myanmar's Burmese Ghouls in their best-of-three (Bo3) group stage match, 2-0, for a strong start on the opening day of the M5 World Championship in EVM Convention Center in Quezon City on Saturday, December 2.

Meeting anew after almost three years of their square off in the M2 Grand Finals in Singapore, the then Bren Esports once again defeated the same foe.

This time, now carrying the name AP.Bren, captain Angelo "Pheww" Arcangel and David Charles "FlapTzy" Canon are the only ones left from that champion squad while the Ghouls paraded an entirely new roster for the fifth iteration of Mobile Legends: Bang Bang's biggest international competition.

For his part, Coach Francis "Duckey" Glindro clearly saw the difference between the BG side Bren met and beat before via a 4-3 scoreline and the 2023 Myanmar representatives, stating the current roster was 'shaky'.

"M5 Burmese Ghouls is quite shaky at this point. Whereas M2 Burmese Ghouls whenever we face them in a major setup, they always step up. They are like a bunch of beasts whenever we play them but right now Burmese Ghouls, they are shaky. They had a long haul flight they flew like 27 hours so that's hard on their bodies. I hope they could regain their composure moving forward," Duckey" said.

The Hive quickly dispatched BG in Game One while fending off the latter's strong resistance in the second and final game.

Bren seized control of the early game as Burmese Ghouls' gold laner Htet Linn Hlyan "Stitch" Aung's Brody struggled while his counterpart and country's own Marco "Super Marco" Requitiano's Claude shone bright, listing five kills and seven assists with no death.

Pheww's Novaria also delivered the goods as he troubled the visitors in the middle lane with his Astral Echoes. The two-time Southeast Asian Games gold medalist for the Philippines had three kills and six assists.

The Ghouls succumbed in just 13 minutes and 45 seconds with four recorded kills only as their choice of Angela-Ruby mid combo backfired.

Unlike the opening tussle, Game Two proved to be a tug of war between Bren and the Ghouls.

In the drafting phase for the second game, BG seemingly went for picks suitable for an aggressive early game, considering the struggle they faced at this juncture in the opener. Hein Arkar "Niko" Htet chose Martis while Stitch reused Brody, now, gaining an added healing from Kaung Min "Lina" Khant's Faramis.

The reigning Mobile Legends Professional League (MPL) Philippines titleholder, meanwhile, retained Guinevere but in different hands with Rowgien "Owgwen" Unigo, as Kyle "KyleTzy" Sayson once again wielded Nolan.

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Niko led the charge for Myanmar's dominant early game by clinching two of the three possible turtles.

By that time, Bren's engine was just heating up. They patiently waited for their chance to crack the Ghouls, grabbing four of the five lords in the 26-minute game to take the lead, even establishing a 7,000-gold advantage at a time.

In the late game, BG battled back and got a lord for a price, as Niko, Stitch, and Thiha "Carbon" Kyaw fell.

Left defending their base, Lina's Faramis and Kyaw "Blinkx" Thuya's Kaja were outnumbered and beaten in the process as Bren wrapped things up in QC.

KyleTzy's Nolan earned the Most Valuable Player (MVP) nod for Game Two with a six-kill, five-assist effort on 83 percent involvement in Bren's every kill.

Up next for APBR is Mark "Hadess" Lazaro's Team Flash on Wednesday, December 6, at 8 pm, while the Ghouls take on the Singaporean team tomorrow to keep their title aspiration alive.