After 6 gruelling weeks of competition (plus a 3-week break due to the coronavirus situation), 8 teams have made it into the Playoffs.

Upper Bracket

RSG vs Bosskurr – David and Goliath

Despite struggling early on in the season, Bosskurr managed to claw their way back up in Week 5, edging Orange Esports Reborn and SMG out to enter the Upper Bracket. For a team that’s been struggling ever since star player Fredo left, that’s a big feat to achieve. With Leixia in the team, Bosskurr is capable of dishing out heavy damage to turn fights around.

Now another obstacle presents itself, though, in the form of RSG.

Compared to previous seasons, Resurgence has improved drastically this season. They only lost one match the entire season (versus EVOS SG) and have otherwise been sweeping other teams with their disciplined, coordinated gameplay.

This matchup isn’t in Bosskurr’s favour, with a massive point difference between them. Still, Bosskurr is a tricky opponent. They even managed to defeat EVOS 2-1 in Week 4! If RSG underestimates them, the Singaporean team might get a rude awakening. 

Geek Fam vs EVOS SG – Clash of Titans

This match between two former champions will likely be a fair bit more intense and less one-sided. Like RSG, the Season 3 champions Geek Fam have shown significant improvement in Season 5, compared to S4 where they were struggling to find their footing and adjust to a new roster.

Notably, Geek Fam was able to defeat EVOS SG in Week 1 of S5 with a clean sweep, showcasing their knowledge of EVOS’ aggressive gameplay and how to counter it. It’s worth noting that GF was the team that defeated EVOS in S3’s finals as well. They aren’t called the ‘Singapore Slayers’ for no reason, after all.

EVOS, on the other hand, has deteriorated somewhat in S5, when they would usually be in #1 or #2 at worst. Like GF, they swapped their roster this season, bringing in the newbie marksman POKEMON, former RSG player Lun, and Notorious Villains’ Fossa to replace Ace and Potato, while also fielding RSG’s former captain Aeon as a coach. So far, the swap seems to have worked out fine, though not without the occasional mistake or two which makes their performance less consistent.

It’s hard to say who’ll come out on top, though the odds are slightly in GF’s favour, given their track record.

Lower Bracket

Orange Esports Reborn vs Axis Esports – Underdogs Once More

In the lower bracket, we have the newbie team Orange Esports Reborn, versus Season 2 champions Axis Esports.

It’s safe to say Axis has been performing terribly this season compared to their usual gameplay, especially compared to last season where they were 3rd in the Regular Season. They were the underdogs in Season 2, and now history seems to repeat itself, with Axis barely making it into 8th place over Siren Clan. It’s not very flattering to have the same score as an underperforming newbie team. While Axis does have strong players like Loong and Rynn, the teamwork just isn’t there, and their gameplay seems very disorganized.

OE has a leg up on them, despite being a new team. This is in part due to the fact that OE’s captain Silo was the one who led Axis (then known as Saiyan Reborn) to the S2 championship. While his new team’s inexperience is obvious, their current track record (4 wins 5 losses) isn’t too bad for newbies, and they’re a solid middle-of-the-pack team that has good potential. Plus, having a captain who knows your opponents well is an added advantage.

Todak vs SMG – Reversal of Fates

Todak is another once-skilled team that seems to have lost the plot. Despite coming in 2nd in S4’s Grand Finals against EVOS and 3rd at M1, they’re very out of practice and seem unprepared for the current meta, despite having very skilled players like Eoneeee and Cikuuuuu. Credit where credit’s due though, they’ve managed to improve in the past two weeks and avoid elimination, but it’s still a far cry from the rising star team that they were last season.

Their opponents SMG started out the opposite way, opening with a win-streak In Weeks 1 and 2. But since then, they’ve been losing a lot of their matches, especially against the stronger teams (and even Siren Clan). They do have a very skilled marksman in the form of Smooth, but as previously mentioned, SMG is overly reliant on his skills to carry. When he’s focused on or taken out of the picture, the team generally struggles in making plays.

Both teams have their fair share of weaknesses, and it’s hard to say who’ll survive this clash. If Todak can train and work on their meta knowledge, they have the advantage, but SMG will undoubtedly do the same.

Catch the MPL-MY/SG Playoffs live on the MLBB Facebook page from 1-3 May.

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