Two-time Mobile Legends world champs AP.Bren remain hungry for more success and money, says coach Ducky

It’s not easy for any team to win a world championship in esports, let alone win it twice. However, Filipino Mobile Legends: Bang Bang (MLBB) powerhouse AP.Bren (formerly known as Bren Esports) achieved just that when they won the M5 World Championship last December.

Despite this unprecedented level of success for any MLBB team, AP.Bren are still hungry for more.

Ahead of the MLBB Professional League (MPL) Philippines Season 13, Yahoo Gaming SEA spoke with AP.Bren coach Francis "Ducky" Glindro who shared his outlook on the upcoming season and how the team keeps that hunger to win alive.

“I think it boils down to simple steps such as goal setting,” said Ducky. “You really have to set goals on a daily basis, [and] weekly short-term goals.”

With the team consisting mostly of young players under 25-years old, Ducky says the team is stimulated by challenge.

“I’m very thankful that they’re like that, so they really challenge themselves to bring the best out of each other,” added Ducky.

Aside from winning M5, this was one of the obvious reasons AP.Bren stuck with their current roster this year. Coach Ducky says that we haven’t even seen the best of the team yet, both individually and as a group, despite winning the world title last year.

“I think it’s a no-brainer to keep the roster intact. We have the synergy going on; we have the chemistry as well,” said Ducky.

“Moving forward, I hope to see them shine brighter.”

And while most would think that two-time world champions are mostly motivated by success. There are, of course, other things that keep the players going. One of the easiest reasons is money.

“They’re easily motivated by money, which is a good thing!” coach Ducky exclaimed.

“Everyone actually works for money or if you really want to compete, the money is always at the back of your head.”

In fact, when we spoke with the rest of the team, Rowgien "Owgwen" Unigo shared the same sentiment. “What motivates me is money,” he said with a laugh.

Like Owgwen who recently opened a small business, many of the players in AP.Bren also shared that they would use their winnings to build their own businesses. M5 MVP David "FlapTzy" Canon also aims to do the same, saying that he wanted to make sure he’s able to make investments so that his money will grow.

But it’s not all about the money for AP Bren. Many of them, Ducky says, are also motivated by their competitive spirit and becoming great at the game, even setting short-term daily goals to improve their skill and mechanics.

“Whatever you did wrong the previous day, you do it right this day and just incrementally change your attitude about it,” said Ducky.

According to AP.Bren's coach, a great example of a player with this pure competitive spirit is FlapTzy. “He experienced basically both the sides of esports from… winning, losing, and then winning again,” Ducky said of his team's EXP laner.

FlapTzy himself admitted that he’s still hungry for the win, saying that “for this season, we’re even more hungry to win and work on becoming the best.”

On the MLBB esports landscape

When asked why the Philippines has been the strongest region since M2 all the way back in 2021, where Bren Esports claimed their first world championship, coach Ducky said what sets the Filipinos apart is their reason for competing.

“I think the prioritization between the two regions is different. Indonesians go pro so that they can stream. In the Philippines, it’s easy—they actually go pro to win,” said Ducky.

He pointed out that majority of the Filipino players don’t stream their matches, so their focus is training hard for the upcoming tournament. Coach Ducky made this observation from his time as a coach in EVOS Indonesia for a year.

“Basically, [the Indonesian players] goal is to stream. Because that’s where the chunk of change comes from," said Ducky.

But while AP.Bren and the rest of the Filipino MLBB scene sit atop the mountain for now, there are other emerging regions that coach Ducky believes everyone should look out for. Among these up-and-coming regions, he believes China as a region will start making waves very soon.

“Yeah, there are definitely potential regions coming up, particularly China. Another region I would say is the MENA (Middle East and North Africa) region, it’s an up-and-coming region. Brazil is there as well… but overall, I’m looking forward to China,” said Ducky.

And with more regions joining the MLBB esports scene, M2 and M5 World Champions AP.Bren can look forward to bigger challenges ahead of them.

Anna is a freelance writer and photographer. She is a gamer who loves RPGs and platformers, and is a League of Legends geek. She's also a food enthusiast who loves a good cup of black coffee.

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