Team Liquid PH locks horns with Ultra Legends, while ONIC PH squares off against Aurora Türkiye as the Philippine teams hit the ground running in the Mid-Season Cup at the 2025 Esports World Cup.
The calm before the storm.
ONIC PH’s Grant "Kelra" Pillas and Team Liquid PH’s Kiel "Oheb" Q. Soriano were all smiles just before the Philippine bets jumpstarted their campaigns in the Mid-Season Cup at the 2025 Esports World Cup, set to take place from July 23-August 2 in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia.
The two esports stars took a moment to join fellow competitors for an official MLBB photo as the reigning MPL PH Season 15 champions and runners-up are poised to carry the Philippines' banner on the global stage.
For TLPH, the tournament presents a daunting challenge, as they find themselves drawn into the "group of death” alongside defending champions Selangor Red Giants from Malaysia, ONIC ID from Indonesia, and wildcard surprise Virtus.pro.
TLPH’s first challenge will be Ultra Legends in their opening match.
Meanwhile, ONIC PH enters the tournament with high expectations. They’ve been placed in Group B alongside Indonesia’s RRQ Hoshi, Malaysia’s HomeBois, Singapore’s Team Flash, Serbia’s Team Spirit, China’s DianFengYaoGuaim, and the USA’s Area 77.
Their first match will be against Aurora Türkiye on Thursday, July 24 (PH time).
[ALSO READ: Team Liquid join champs Selangor, ONIC PH set for MSC debut with Esports World Cup 2025 draw]
Meanwhile, TLPH’s women’s squad secured a fourth-place finish after a 3-0 sweep by Myanmar’s Terror Queens in the bronze-medal match. Their hopes of back-to-back titles were dashed in the semifinals by eventual champions Team Vitality.
NAVI PH, another Filipino representative, was eliminated in the quarterfinals following a loss to tournament runners-up Gaimin Gladiators.
Both teams finished the group stage with strong 2-0 records but fell short of reaching the podium.
[ALSO READ: Clutch Team Liquid PH and NAVI PH blaze through group play, enter MWI playoffs on a high]