After the first week of MPL Philippines and Indonesia has completed, a few new heroes are taking center stage, some more than others.
It may have only been the first weekend of the Mobile Legends Professional League in both Indonesia and the Philippines, as they enter their eleventh seasons, but we are already seeing some heroes being favoured in both regions. While Wanwan and Beatrix suffered under the nerf-hammer of Moonton on a few occasions, leaving the two rarely played in the Gold Lane, Karrie was already making its way into the spotlight at the M4 World Championships – but it seems another hero is slowly creeping up.
A few picks have stood out for us throughout the opening weekend of action in PH and ID, with Fredrinn being one of these. Although tied at the highest pick through M4, Fredrinn now seems to be taking over the MPL too, picked 29 times over 36 games between the two regions, while being banned the remaining seven instances for an insane 100% pick and ban rate in week one. This spans both regions and we expect to see the Fredrinn continue to be highly contested.
Moskov was one of the biggest surprises over the weekend, even coming in above the Karrie pick in PH, while ID seem to favour the more known Marksman choice. With that said, Moskov has not made a great impact as teams still work their way into the meta of the new season. After two of the best teams in PH (Smart Omega Esports and Blacklist International) failed on four occasions with Moskov, the hero may take a nose-dive in picks come week 2. Alternatively, ID saw a mixed bag of results for the Marksman, but it seems as though the region could lean into some alternative gold laners for the season.
It is difficult to pin down exactly why Moskov has not excelled in the marksman role just yet, especially when paired up with the likes of Faramis’ Cult Altar or even the Franco Bloody Hunt. With that said, we have seen Melissa taking over the MDL ID Season 7 event, which could be something that the MPL teams could be next to grab onto. With Beatrix still able to burst down opponents and objectives, it seems as though she will never fall away completely – not in the same way that Natan did following the M3 World Championships. On the other hand, Brody’s quick movements and the Torn-Apart Memory have already seen him claiming a spot in the MPL picks in the first week.
Unfortunately, what this means, is that Moskov may never really find his spot in the current MPL seasons, not without some buffs, or until players figure out just who to pair him with to maximise his penetrating cleave damage. The likes of Brody and Karrie should continue to shine, while Wanwan bans come out, and Beatrix takes on a much smaller role. With Melissa making an appearance after her prolific entrance into the MDL, it will also be internesting to see if Malaysia's MPL follows into the same meta in March.
