By Michael Angelo S. Murillo, Senior Reporter

FILIPINO esports team Bren Esports made history at the weekend, becoming the first Philippine squad to win the Mobile Legends: Bang Bang M2 World Championship title.

Bren defeated Burmese Ghouls, 4-3, in their best-of-seven finals held in Singapore on Sunday.

The team achieved the amazing feat despite being relegated to the lower bracket early on in the tournament.

The Bren crew of CJ Ribo (“Ribo”), Karl Gabriel Nepomuceno (“KarlTzy”), Allan Castamayor (“Lusty”), David Charles Canon (“FlapTzy”), team captain Angelo Kyle Arcangel (“Pheww”), Mico Sampang (“Coco”), and Efphraim Sambrano (“Ejhay”) showed tremendous drive, racking up key victories after dropping its opening game to barge into the finals.

Bren took an early lead in the finals over the Ghouls, going up, 2-0, led by KarlTzy.

But the Ghouls would recover after, taking the next three matches to overtake Bren, 3-2.

The team from the Philippines then regained its footing, making the needed adjustments to better compete with the Ghouls; a move that paid huge dividends as it took the next two games to bag the hard-earned victory.

For its victory, Bren took the large chunk of the $300,000 pool prize, while KarlTzy was named Finals MVP and was awarded $3,000.

Following the landmark conquest, Bren officials praised the players for their efforts while also underscoring as key their decision to take the necessary path in trying to go world-class and elevate the sport.

“We started by believing that we had a good idea of how we can create world-class professional Esports Athletes,” said Bren Esports COO Jab Escutin in a Facebook post following their win. “And now, here we have shown what happens when we treat our Esports athletes as professionals in their own right, by giving them an environment where they can be adults and be treated with respect for their craft and the hard work it requires to be able to perform consistently at the highest levels. To understand that your peers are not only playing games all day, but instead appreciate that they are working hard to be the very best,” he added.

Mr. Escutin went on to thank all their supporters and those who believe in their push to elevate esports in the country.

Bren Esports was founded in 2017 and has steadily established itself as one of the esports teams of note in the country and a key stakeholder in the gaming community.

Apart from Mobile Legends, it also has competitive teams in League of Legends, Hearthstone, Arena of Valor, Valorant, and Tekken 7, among others.