Even after a gold medal in the SEA Games 2025, Kiel Calvin “Oheb” Soriano and the rest of Team Liquid PH are staying on guard ahead of the M7 World Championships.
In a title as volatile as Mobile Legends: Bang Bang, one can never be too confident — and that’s exactly the mindset for Kiel Calvin “Oheb” Soriano and Team Liquid PH entering the M7 World Championships this month.
Soriano has been to the M-Series thrice before, and is also coming off of a fairytale debut at the SEA Games 2025 in Thailand where SIBOL extended their gold medal dominance.
But with changes happening over the holidays, Soriano knows that they’ll have a lot of adjusting to do — especially if they want to continue the Philippines’ winning tradition in the world championship.
Save for M1, a Filipino team has won all previous editions of the M-Series.
Having won Finals MVP in M3 with Blacklist International, Soriano knows just how difficult it will be to continue on ruling the competition — especially as the game developers recently implemented a patch.
“Ako personally, di ko tine-take yung pagka-panalo namin sa SEA Games as pang momentum kasi may malaking changes ngayon sa MLBB. Nagkaron ng big patch. So yun din yung naging main reason kung bakit yung holiday season namin nagugol sa practice,” Soriano told One Sports during their M7 sendoff.
“Kasi biglang nag-patch si Moonton before M7 so nagiba ulit yung mga playstyle sa game. So ngayon, hindi ko pa matantsa kung ano yung confidence level namin kasi naga-adjust pa lang talaga kami,” he added.
Still, Philippine representatives have always been favorites in the M-Series, with the SEA Games gold only reinforcing the country’s position as the team to beat in MLBB.
Friendly Fire Final
As for who he wants to face on MLBB’s biggest stage, Soriano was admittedly biased when it came to his dream matchups.
With a Philippines vs Philippines Grand Finals happening already twice before, Soriano hopes it can be that way anew.
“Ako, syempre, bias din ako syempre mas gusto ko makatapat sa Finals yung Aurora para PH versus PH Finals para sure nang PH makakakuha ng M7,” quipped Soriano.
Team Liquid PH will be facing off against Aurora Gaming PH in their opening game of the Swiss Stage, a rematch of the MPL Philippines Season 16 Grand Finals.
But at the end of the day, Soriano does want to continue to test their mettle with other big names in the region.
Among these teams are home team ONIC ID, who have posed interesting matchups in the past against Soriano and company.
“Gusto ko rin talaga makatapat yung ONIC kung sila yung mananalo kasi kahit sa scrims pa lang, sobrang lakas nila kalaban and masaya talaga sila kalaro,” he said.
Soriano will be joined by teammates Sanford “Sanford” Vinuya, Karl “KarlTzy” Nepomuceno, Alston “Sanji” Pabico, and Jaypee “Jaypee” Dela Cruz in the main roster for Team Liquid PH.
(With reports from Gillian Trinidad)
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Luisa Morales is a sports writer with a special interest in promoting women’s sports.
Her coverage highlights include the UAAP, PVL, Southeast Asian Games, and the FIBA World Cup. She also follows Alex Eala, the Philippine women’s national football team, and mixed martial arts.