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How did MLBB become the most dynamic esports in Indonesia?

By Zerina Post a Comment

GAMEFINITY.ID, Jakarta – Hundreds of thousands of pairs of eyes witnessed the struggle of EVOS Esports which finally managed to bring home the Mobile Legends: Bang Bang Professional League Indonesia trophy Season 4 (MPL ID S4) after their struggles always ran aground in the previous 3 seasons. Throughout the history of MPL Indonesia from Season 1, there has never been a team that has won this prestigious title more than once.

In every season, the MLBB martial arts world map also changes. Season 1, the MPL ID title was held by NXL after beating EVOS Esports in the final. At that time, NXL was not even a champion at all because Bigetron, EVOS, and RRQ were at the top of the Regular Season standings. Season 2, it was RRQ’s turn to beat EVOS at the end of the competition which was held at JX International, Surabaya. Even though they reached the final, EVOS this season is not the favorite to win because there is Aerowolf which contains all former NXL players, ONIC who won the Regular Season, and RRQ which is complete with great players in every line.

Season 3? ONIC Esports has dominated MPL Indonesia throughout the season. ONIC and the Louvre are the champions of the MLBB martial arts world this season. These two teams always enter the finals in 3 major MLBB tournaments, even at the Southeast Asian level (MSC 2021). RRQ and EVOS, which in the previous season competed in the final, both lost on the first day of the MPL ID S3 Playoffs. Season 3 was a nightmare for both teams.

Season 4, the wheels are turning again. ONIC Esports, which was completely unbeaten in the previous season in various MLBB competitions, actually limped through many defeats. Aerowolf, who brought all the Louvre players (which previously could only be defeated by ONIC), was even worse. They sit at the bottom of the Regular Season standings and failed to get into the Playoffs. EVOS and RRQ are again the champion candidates like Season 1. The final match also repeated the MPL ID S2 final but with the opposite result. Alter Ego also suddenly made its name as a dark horse team this season. Not a few people who became champions of this team. Even though this team only contains 1 player whose name has been widely heard since season 1, Imanuel “Rmitchi” Santoso. When it comes to players, there are only a handful of players who still exist and excel throughout the history of MPL ID from Season 1, such as Eko “Oura” Julianto and Muhammad “Lemon” Ikhsan. Eko has even appeared at MSC 2021 while defending Saints Indo. Daylen and Saints Indo, maybe those are 2 names that became MLBB icons in 2021. However, 2 years later, these two names are no longer heard at the competitive level.

For those who don’t really follow the development of esports in Indonesia, this rarely happens in the world of other martial arts games. In Dota 2, BOOM Esports has dominated the last 2 years. In CS:GO, NXL was even undefeated in national-scale tournaments for 5 consecutive years. In the next mobile MOBA, EVOS Esports is always the winner. Likewise, one of the mobile battle royale games which is dominated by Bigetron Esports.

The big question is, why did this happen? What makes MLBB different from other esports games in Indonesia?

Frans “Volva” Riyando, who has always been a shoutcaster subscriber since MPL ID Season 1 to Season 4, gave his comments. According to Volva, the dynamic of MLBB esports is due to the large number of players and the activeness of the gaming community.

“If I say, this game is a pro-people game. Not only strengthening and multiplying major events in the capital city, from the beginning Moonton also revived small communities in various regions. Even these communities can now walk on their own without help.”

When compared to other games, according to Volva, these games have also experienced a decrease in the number of players pursuing a competitive level. Because of this, the supply of new players has stagnated.

“In addition, the change in MPL which has become a franchise system has also forced professional teams that compete to be more daring and actively look for talented players because the stakes are bigger.” said Volva.

Veronica “Velajave” Fortuna, who is an MPL ID S4 shoutcaster and has experience as a shoutcaster in other games, also didn’t want to miss giving her opinion. According to him, the dynamic of MLBB esports occurs because the META is changing so fast.

“META MLBB is changing really fast, in my opinion. If players are not able to follow these developments, they can get stuck at the same point. For example, ONIC. Their game from the beginning of the season has been read by their opponents and they have not succeeded in creating new techniques or strategies. While Alter Ego, they create a new combo with Xborg, Kimmy, or Badang. Alter Ego is more willing to take risks.”

In addition, Vela also gave an opinion that supports Volva’s comments earlier. “There are also those whose skills are racing with the new players. Wan, for example. A new kid, out of nowhere, who brings new gameplay that leaves many opponents confused.”

Vincent “Oddie” Indra, who, like Vela, has worked as a shoutcaster in several esports games in Indonesia, has a different perspective from his colleagues here. According to him, the dynamic movement of the MLBB martial arts world is due to the history of the players.

“Most of the MLBB players did start their careers at the professional level from MLBB and not too long ago. This is very different from the Dota 2 players from BOOM who have played 7-8 years. The flying hours make it easier for the players to adapt. In the other mobile MOBA game, there are many players who previously played in PC MOBA games which made them learn and adapt quickly. This can be seen from R7 (RRQ) and Phoenix (Aura) but there are very few players like that in MLBB.”

Mochammad Ryan “KB” Batistuta, who faithfully accompanies Volva as a shoutcaster from MPL ID S1, explained in more detail several cases.

“ONIC is almost the same as RRQ back in Season 1. They are strong but their movements have now been analyzed and read. All teams, of course, try to find gaps and learn the weaknesses of teams that are considered strong. The higher up and the more times a team gets the spotlight, the more and more we get noticed.”

“The opposite is the Alter Ego. Previously, this team was rarely the center of attention, even though their development was very fast. The fewer people who know the Alter Ego, the better their chances will be.” he continued.

Apart from the player side, Ryan also added about the influence of META/patches in the game which greatly influences changes in the MLBB esports competition map.

“Example huh? For example, Valir. In Week 8 (Regular Season), Valir is very strong which makes him the first choice every time a match. But in the Playoffs, Valir is no longer a priority — unless there’s no Harith or Esmeralda — due to patch changes. This change happened in just 2 weeks.” KB story.

Volva, Vela, and Oddie also agree that this rapid change in META makes MLBB esports even more dynamic.

“The META will indeed continue to move as long as new heroes are added.” said Volva firmly.

While Oddie and Vela gave the same opinion. New heroes in MLBB will usually be more favored and stronger than the old heroes. This is reasonable because the new heroes have not been tested as much as the old heroes in the competitive arena, so they still need adjustments. On the other hand, old heroes will become less attractive if they are not reworked because they have memorized all kinds of strategies. Finally, with the dynamics of MLBB esports in Indonesia, does this have a positive or negative impact on our ecosystem?

Dylan Chia, MPL Indonesia Marketing Director, said, “Right now, we don’t see a negative impact. A high competitive spirit is always good for athletes, just like the motto of the Olympics, ‘Higher, Faster, Stronger.’ If we want to be successful, we have to train hard, build ourselves up, maintain discipline and be able to work together.”

On the one hand, this dynamic competition between players and teams is indeed a big reason why MLBB is still the most popular esports in Indonesia. For those who like football, the same analogy can be used to compare the English League with other leagues. It’s like watching a movie, we can still feel the tension while watching it because there are no spoilers or leaks about the ending of the story.

Volva agrees with the positives above. “The rapid development of MLBB esports makes every tournament and every match not monotonous.” he said.

Ryan also added that the high level of MLBB competition in Indonesia makes us a reference for this esports game for other countries. One example is Russian gamers who idolize ONIC and follow the development of MPL ID. In addition, according to Velajave, the dynamics of MLBB will also force its players to develop quickly.

“So, being forced to develop is positive too. But… there is this ‘but’. For those who are mentally deficient, this will make them quickly despair. This is also not good for those who have sacrificed everything but must be eliminated quickly…” Velajave closed thoughtfully.

What Veronica said earlier does make sense because not all players who are lucky enough to be like JessNoLimit or Jonathan “Emperor” Liandi can continue their careers even though they are released as pro players. Then what is the solution? The solution may indeed have to be done jointly by all components in the Indonesian esports ecosystem because, apart from this problem that actually occurs in all esports games, this big work requires a lot of cooperation from various parties. The need to continue school (or college) must be instilled or even required for all pro players, for example, could be one solution that can be worked on together.

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