MPL-PH unveils new S13 time slot, format; MDL-PH to use global ban

MPL Philippines will start all their regular season games at 4:00 PM. Photo from Moonton

by Drew Malihan

MANILA - "4PM, MPL na!"

MLBB Professional League - Philippines (MPL-PH) reveals their upcoming Season 13 structure on Friday, two weeks before league kick-off.

The league will still be held at the Shooting Gallery Studios in Makati, with all match days to start at 4:00 PM Philippine time, from March 15 to May 5. Games will also be broadcast live on MPL Philippines' YouTube and Tiktok channels.

After the seven-week regular season will be a one-week break before the playoffs, to be held from May 22 to 26 at a yet-to-be-determined venue.

The "4PM, MPL na" campaign aims to cater to the young MPL PH audience who will be mostly just done with school or work before the game time, Moonton's marketing manager Harry Leonardo explained in an online press conference with the MPL Press Corps.

Leonardo also added that MPL-PH fans' positive feedback to the league venue contributed to MPL-PH staying at Shooting Gallery Studios.

The league will be contested by eight franchise teams. Reigning MPL-PH and M5 World Champions AP.Bren will defend their crown against Blacklist International. ECHO, RSG Philippines, ONIC Philippines, Smart Omega, Minana EVOS, and TNC Pro Team.

Something new for MPL-PH

MPL-PH also revealed new things to check out in the upcoming season.

The upcoming Season 13 will debut a new point system, where every regular season win, regardless if it is a sweep or not, will now be worth three points, up from two last season.

A 1-2 loss will still be worth one point, while a 0-2 sweep will get no points.

For the first time since the league's inception, the MPL-PH playoffs will feature a gauntlet format, in which the fifth and sixth-placed teams of the regular season will face each other in an elimination series.

The winner will be facing the fourth-seeded team in another elimination series, with the winner securing the last spot in the upper bracket semifinals.

From there it will be a standard double-elimination format to determine the two teams who will proceed to the upcoming Mid Season Cup in Saudi Arabia, as well as the league champion for Season 13.

The caster lineup will be joined by a new but familiar face as Bridgitte Alexandra "Brigida" Ramos will be in the mainstay MPL-PH caster lineup after two guest stints in Seasons 11 and 12, as well as the M5 World Championships.

The league will also highlight a Super Star Match of the Week, featuring marquee matchups from each of the seven-match weeks with promo codes available for online viewers.

MPL-PH will also have a Sure, Win Streak segment where pro players will share their tips and tricks to dominate ranked games.

Changes for MDL Philippines

MDL-PH Season 3's tagline is "Lakbay sa Tagumpay". Photo from Moonton

MDL Philippines will also see their fair share of changes in their third season, dubbed as "Lakbay sa Tagumpay."

The second-tier league will be contested by ten teams, as ECHO Proud will defend their crown agianst RRQ Kaito, Smart Omega NEOS, TNC Z4, Minana Archives, ONIC Arsenals, GameLab x Desolators, Blacklist Academy Rough Era, RSG El Ganador, and AP.BREN XIA.

MDL-PH will follow their Indonesian counterparts in the global ban format, where a team can only use a particular hero once during the entire series.

The league's playoffs will also be held online for the first time, as Moonton aims at fans to support their favorite MDL teams live.

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