For the first time since 2019, the Philippines will be absent from the MLBB Mid-Season Cup Finals after Team Falcons PH’s comeback attempt fell just short against Myanmar’s Yangon Galacticos, who escaped with an intense 3-2 victory on July 31 in Paris.
For most of the series, it was the Falcons who held the upper hand early. But Yangon Galacticos repeatedly found that extra gear down the stretch to finally halt the Philippines’ five-year reign. With the victory, the still undefeated Yangon Galacticos—led by Filipino Head Coach Mark Neil “Marvz” Luz—became the first Burmese team to reach a global championship final since 2021.
Team Falcons Fight Back
The first two games followed a similar script: the Filipinos struck first, but YG’s mid-game scaling proved to be a puzzle Team Falcons simply couldn’t solve. Catching everyone by surprise, the Burmese squad overwhelmed the Falcons 2-0 to extend their immaculate tournament run to 9-0. Once considered a dark horse, YG looked virtually unstoppable.
But you can never count Team Falcons out. The MSC 2024 runners-up fought back with everything they had starting in Game 3.
The Filipinos wasted no time asserting themselves, surging to a 4-1 kill score and 2k gold lead. With the Falcons firmly in control, YG needed a spark. They thought they found it at the four-minute mark when Sanjiii and Hann caught SuperMarco. What followed, however, was a masterclass from the guy they call “Bulletproof.” Under heavy fire from the Burmese squad, Marco was brought down to just 1 HP. But just as YG was about to close out the assassination, Marco executed an incredible turnaround, casting his Blazing Duet to melt both of his pursuers.
The Filipinos never looked back from there, closing out the match in just 13 minutes with a massive 13k gold lead and a lopsided 17-2 kill score to hand YG their first loss of the tournament.
An Exciting Endgame Unfolds
Game 4 was as crucial as it could get, with both squads deadlocked through the opening minutes. The breakthrough finally came at the seven-minute mark as both teams contested the final Turtle. YG’s roamer initiated a Fatal Links with his Atlas, but Hadji quickly Purified to safety. SuperMarco immediately countered with Blazing Duet, dealing massive damage and allowing the Falcons to pick off three members of the Burmese squad. From there, the Falcons’ lead skyrocketed out of reach, forcing a do-or-die Game 5.
The final match was another back-and-forth battle, with both squads trading blows. Team Falcons found a crucial opening at the 9-minute mark, catching YG out of position to eliminate their gold laner and roamer. Shortly after, however, the Filipinos made a questionable call. Holding a slight lead, with one YG member isolated and the Lord on their side, the Falcons executed a daring dive into the enemy base.
That gamble turned into a disaster: three Falcons went down in exchange for just one YG player. YG’s mid-laner Kaize proved to be a major problem in that fight, securing a double kill. Everything went downhill for the Falcons from that point on. At the 18-minute mark, Kaize starred once again, eliminating four members from the Falcons to lead Myanmar to the win.
Team Falcons PH now drops to the third-place match, setting up a blockbuster encounter against Filipino superstars Kairi and Kelra with ONIC Indonesia—a thrilling rematch of the M5 Grand Finals.
