M2 World Championship Day 1 recap: Omega Esports, Burmese Ghouls start strong
Mobile Legends’ M2 World Championship has finally kicked off, with Omega Esports and Burmese Ghouls topping their respective groups in the first day of group stage action to secure the first two spots in the Upper Bracket of the tournament’s playoffs.
Read on for a recap of all the day one action in M2:
Match 1: Omega Esports 2-0 Todak
The first series of the M2 World Championship was a Group B matchup between Filipino team Omega Esports and MPL MY/SG champions Todak, which ended with Omega Esports taking a dominant 2-0 victory to open the tournament.
Omega Esports got off to a hot start, taking game one of the series in just 11 minutes and with a very lopsided 20-3 kill score advantage. Todak put up a much better fight in game two and held on until 22 minutes, but eventually succumbed to a determined Omega Esports squad.
Match 2: Burmese Ghouls 2-0 Unique Deus Vult
The second match of the day was the Group A opener between MPL Myanmar champions Burmese Ghouls and Russian team Unique Deus Vult.
Game one was a closely-contested affair, but the Burmese Ghouls were able to outmanoeuvre their opponents in crucial late game engagements to take an 18-minute victory and a 19-14 kill lead. Deus Vult seemed stunned by their loss in game one as they looked listless in game two, as the Burmese Ghouls secured the series sweep in just under 12 minutes and quadrupled their enemies’ kills, 16-4.
Match 3: Todak 2-0 Impunity KH
The action went back to Group A for the next match, as Todak looked to bounce back from their loss to Omega Esports by securing a 2-0 sweep of their own over Cambodian team Impunity KH.
Despite both games in the series ending up as high-kill slugfests, Todak were still able to finish both in under 12 minutes. In game one, Todak bludgeoned Impunity KH to the tune of a 19-8 kill score to take the win at 11 minutes. The MY/SG champions continued to brawl in game two and came out with a 20-7 kill lead, a 10-minute victory, and the series sweep over Impunity KH.
Match 4: RSG 2-1 Unique DeVu
Up next was a Group B showdown between Singaporean team RSG and Unique Deus Vult, which ended up as the only three-game series of the day with RSG emerging victorious.
The series opened with a 20-minute grinder, as Deus Vult made RSG pay for every inch of ground but eventually succumbed to their opponents’ onslaught. A seemingly overconfident RSG pulled out an ill-advised Alucard pick for game two, which Deus Vult exploited to take a 16-minute victory and force the series to a decider.
Game three was shaping up to be a 20-minute slugfest much like game one, as Deus Vult looked like they had the upper hand over RSG despite a kill deficit.
However, the Russian squad committed a crucial error in the clutch and found themselves caught out of position by RSG, which gave the Singaporean team the opportunity to close out the game and the series just before the 18-minute mark.
Match 5: Omega Esports 2-0 Impunity KH
In the last Group B for the day, a streaking Omega Esports squad wasted no time and mopped the floor with Impunity KH to secure a coveted spot in the Upper Bracket of the playoffs.
Omega Esports struck hard and fast in game one, topping Impunity KH in the kill board, 13-3, and taking the win in just under 11 minutes of action.
Despite a valiant effort by the Cambodian squad, game two was more one-sided than game one. Impunity KH were able to hold out for over 12 minutes, but Omega Esports held a very lopsided 21-4 kill lead as they cruised to the Upper Bracket of the playoffs.
Match 6: Burmese Ghouls 2-0 RSG
The last match of the day saw Burmese Ghouls and RSG clash for the top seed for Group A, with Burmese Ghouls pulling off the 2-1 upset and securing the second Upper Bracket spot in the playoffs.
Both teams came out swinging early in game one, but Burmese Ghouls got the better of those exchanges to snowball to a 13-minute victory and lead in kills, 23-13. Game two was the inverse of game one, however, as RSG were the ones that dominated the early fights. While the Burmese Ghouls were able to hold on for 18 minutes, RSG more than doubled their opponents’ kills, 25-12, to tie up the series.
Game three started with both teams clashing early once again, but this time it was the Burmese Ghouls who came out on top. While RSG tried to chip away at their opponents’ lead, the Burmese Ghouls didn’t relent and closed out the series by the 15-minute mark with a 22-12 kill advantage.
With the results of the day’s matches, Burmese Ghouls take the top seed of Group A while Omega Esports emerge as the team of Group B. Both squads will start the playoffs on 22 January from a favorable position at the Upper Bracket.
Meanwhile, RSG and Unique Deus Vult from Group A as well as Todak and Impunity KH from Group B will proceed to the second phase of the group stage on 20 January. There, one team from each group will secure a spot in the playoffs from the Lower Bracket while the other will be eliminated.
Day 2 of the M2 World Championship on Tuesday (19 January) will see the teams of Group C — Alter Ego, Bren Esports, and 10S Gaming Frost — and Group D — RRQ Hoshi, EVOS SG, and DreamMax — take the field.
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