The new battle cry was inspired by the M3 World Championships as two top teams, Blacklist International and ONIC PH, took the Champion and first-runner up positions in the international tournament, demonstrating that the country is a formidable MLBB nation.

“Season 9 marks a chapter for many teams, and we are excited to bring back our athletes to demonstrate Lakas ng Pinas, as expertly shown in the M3 World Championship,” said MPL Philippines Business Development Manager Matt Jaron. 

For MPL-PH S9, the tournament will be donning Samsung as its season’s official mobile device partner.

“Samsung Philippines is excited to join forces with MOONTON Games as we have a huge consumer base of mobile gamers whom we know will be just as thrilled. We want to showcase how well-rounded our Galaxy devices are, whatever your interest may be, from content creation to music to gaming. We make products that deliver an amazing smartphone experience overall,” said Jerry Mañus, Mobile Experience Business Unit Head at Samsung Philippines.

For the upcoming season, eight franchises which included Bren Esports, Echo, Smart Omega, Nexplay EVOS, TNC Pro, RSG Philippines, ONIC PH, as well as defending champion Blacklist International will be facing the battle arena.

A new set of rules will be featured this Season 9: The team to be ranked first will determine the placement of the third or fourth-ranked teams to be placed in either the first or second match, and the same will follow for subsequent ranked fifth or sixth positions as well.

Each team can have as many as three assistant coaches or analysts to support them; however, only one will help the head coach during the drafting phase. The rules were adjusted this season to raise the competition level and empower players.

A prize pool of $150,000, or around P7.7 million, will be at stake this season.

The new season will begin from February 18 to April 10 and playoffs will commence on April 28 and will end on May 1.