In the upper bracket, it will be a case of Singapore vs Singapore and Malaysia vs Malaysia. First off, we have EVOS Esports SG going up against Resurgence, both of whom are high profile Singaporean teams that were a force to be reckoned with last season and will be in the MPL playoffs for the second season in a row. The overarching story of last season was the general dominance of the singaporean teams throughout the competition, only for them to ultimately be defeated by Malaysian team Geek Fam in the playoffs. Last season both EVOS and Resurgence had to start the playoffs in the lower bracket, and they’ve built on last seasons performance to secure a better position for themselves in the winners bracket. With the memories of season 3’s playoff defeat still most likely fresh in the minds of these Singaporean teams, you can count on them to be motivated to redeem themselves this time around.
On the other side of the upper bracket we have our 2 Malaysian teams facing off: Todak versus Axis Esports. It should be noted that both these teams have done a remarkable job during the regular season to secure their place in the upper bracket of the playoffs, especially since this has been their debut MPL season. Both Axis Esports and Todak have proven themselves during the regular season by securing victories over tough opponents such EVOS and the returning MPL champion Geek Fam, so Malaysian fans should be optimistic about either one of these teams making a deep run in these playoffs.
Moving on to our lower bracket matchups, we first have the returning champion Geek Fam going up against their fellow Malaysian team, the XPAX X-ASSINS. This is the second season in the row that the X-ASSINS have made it through to the lower bracket of the playoffs, and they’ll be aiming to win their first playoff series after their path to becoming MPL champions came to an abrupt end at the hands of Resurgence in the first round of last seasons playoffs. Geek Fam on the other hand will be under a ton of pressure to retain their title as MPL champions in the face of fan expectations and hungry opponents. They’ve done well enough to secure a place in the losers bracket of the playoffs after a decent regular season, and fans will be hoping that their new roster will be able to pull through when it matters most.
Finally, our last matchup to round out the playoffs will be the Malaysian fan favourite Shopee Bosskurr against Notorious Villains, a team composed of Singaporean players who previously played for Resurgence and NARA Esports. Bosskurr has had a shaky season which almost ended in them failing to make a playoff spot, but now they will have the opportunity to eliminate a Singaporean team from the competition and make way for the Malaysian teams in the playoff bracket. With all that considered, this will probably be the most hotly anticipated match of the first round among the Malaysian fans.
Let us know in the comments who you think will emerge as the winners of each playoff matchup! Stay tuned with us for more coverage of the MPL playoffs coming soon! Source: MPL-MYSG Featured Image Credit: MPL-MYSG Image Credits: MPL-MYSG
