Team Liquid PH

Team Liquid Philippines, (formerly known as: AURA Philippines and ECHO Philippines, abbreviated as TLPH or TL) is a Southeast Asian based esports team under the franchise of Team Liquid, a Dutch-based organization.^[1] The team currently participates as a professional and amateur Mobile Legends: Bang Bang team for MPL Philippines and MDL Philippines, respectively.

In 2024, Team Liquid acquired a majority stake on the Indonesian-based level STUN.GG which manages the rights of AURA Esports, the parent company of then-ECHO Philippines. Team Liquid has since rebranded the Filipino and Indonesian rosters for both MPL and MDL of AURA Esports, now rebranding the team names to include Liquid in its name.^[2]

In season 2, the team traces its roots back to the Digital Devils No Limit which they were later acquired by Bren Esports to be rebranded as Bren No Limit. The following season, the team managed to finish as 5th–6th placers in the playoffs.^{[citation needed]}

Come the fourth season of MPL, they acquired Renzio and Fuzaken while Chico and Vern left the team and rebranded to SunSparks but remained as the sister team of Bren. They claimed their first championship after a grueling match against ONIC Philippines in the grand final, 3–2, and became a full-fledged MPL/PH powerhouse.

In season 5, Later on they swapped with their nemesis ONIC Philippines trading "fuzaken" in exchange of "Greed_" and also they got "Killuash" from his previous team Arkangel, the MPL-S3 winner, together with Eski FLexx (Sky). They have defeated Bren Esports in the Upper Bracket Finals to advance to its second grand finals appearance, and beat ONIC Philippines for the second time to become the first team in MPL Philippines as the back-to-back champions in league history.

In season 6, AURA Esports from Indonesia acquired the whole roster and rebranded to AURA PH. Despite a very good performance in the early and middle phases, They are the one also created the well known "Diggie Strat" unorthodox strategy in MPL.^[3] With the lackluster performance in their final games of the regular season and heading towards the playoffs, they were still ultimately eliminated by ONIC PH, 0–3. Renzio and Kielvj left the team and was replaced by Hadess and Bennyqt.

In season 7 of MPL Philippines, the team managed to qualify for the playoffs but then lost to Execration, 0–3.^[4]

In season 8, their parent team AURA Esports allowed them to change their name to ECHO but still same management.^[5] Some changes were made in their rosters, letting go their former players Killuash,^[6] Jaypee and "Greed_", to which he goes back to his former team ONIC Philippines as Baloyskie. Later on they announced their new players including KurtTzy. As they were able to qualify for the playoffs, but were eliminated to the Omega Esports in four games in the first round of the playoffs, 3 games to 1.^[7]

During the 2021 MPL Invitational, ECHO Philippines managed to win their opener by defeating their Indonesian counterpart, AURA Esports in 2–1 match.^[8] ECHO was then eliminated from the tournament after a second round loss to fellow Filipino team in RSG Philippines, 1–2. ^[9]

MPL Philippines' Season 9 offseason included big names such as M2 World Champion Karl Gabriel "KarlTzy" Nepomuceno and Tristan "YAWI" Cabrera leaving Bren Esports and Nexplay EVOS, respectively. Nepomuceno spent four seasons with Bren, winning an MPL Title in Season 6^[10] and winning the M2 World Title in Singapore in the same year.^[11] Meanwhile, Cabrera spent his entire professional career with Nexplay EVOS, playing under the stewardship of Setsuna "DOGIE" Ignacio.^[12] Meanwhile, Frediemar "3MarTzy" Serafico spent his professional career with Cignal Ultra in Season 7 and TNC Pro Team – ML in Season 8. Serafico left TNC following the team's elimination from the Season 8 playoffs.^[13]

Nepomuceno, Cabrera and Serafico joined forces with ECHO Philippines for Season 9 and confirmed it through their roster introduction which included the return of notable veterans such as Ashley "Killuash" Cruz. Following the retirement of Coach Steve "Dale" Vitug,^[14] Coach Michael "Arcadia" Bocado stepped up at the helm and will coach the "Dynasty" of ECHO Philippines.^[15]

ECHO finished the season with an 8–6 record, securing the third seed behind RSG Philippines and TNC Pro Team – ML. ECHO's KurtTzy was awarded the Week 3 MVP. ECHO would see a disappointing finish for the star-studded lineup with Omega Esports, Coached by Jomie "Coach P4KBET" Abalos swept the superteam in the play-in tournament.^[16]

Following a disappointing playoff finish for the roster, the team would lose head coach Michael "Arcadia" Bocado who signed with RRQ Hoshi in Indonesia following the subsequent departure of Coach Acil (now known as Coach Adi).^[17][18] Regardless, the organization was able to acquire the services of many key players in the long run.

Sanford "Sanford" Marin Vinuya left the same team as Cabrera a season prior from Nexplay EVOS. He was a reserved rookie on the roster of NXPE and decided to join ECHO for Season 10.^[19] Vinuya and Cabrera never played a single game together in a series during the Season prior to joining ECHO.^[20] Vinuya's signing would be capitalized by signing depth players to the squad such as the veteran Jaypee "Jaypee" Cruz, Alston "Sanji" Pabico, Jhonville "Outplayed" Villar, and Justine "Zaida" Palma. The final roster for Season 10 was revealed through a Facebook post.^[21]

ECHO was slated as the fifth seed during the first half of the season, going 5–2 and a 11–8 match standing. Many doubted ECHO's ability to pull off any championship hopes for the season with the return of the VeeWise tandem of Blacklist International.^[22] Regardless of the doubters, ECHO went on another 5–2 regular season finish during the remainder of the second half of the season, finishing with a 10–4 record. They were seeded 2nd however after a 2–0 defeat against Blacklist International who took Seed No. 1. Regardless, ECHO's chances of a title became higher as the limelight shown over the team.

In the playoffs, the team played RSG Philippines who defeated ONIC in three games during the play-ins.^[23] ECHO would quickly dismantle the reigning defending champions, defeating them 3–1 and setting up a match against Blacklist International in the Upper-Bracket Finals. Whoever wins this series would be the first team to qualify for the annual MLBB M4 World Championship in Jakarta. However, the VeeWise Tandem and Blacklist's UBE strategy proved too much for ECHO this time and dropped to the Lower-Bracket Finals after getting swept. The team was able to secure the Grand Finals spot regardless after defeating and denying RSG Philippines a chance to go back-to-back and a chance for the MLBB M4 spot.^[24] This will be ECHO's first major international competition as a franchise under the name ECHO Philippines.

ECHO became the favorites to win the title after going 2–1 against Blacklist International. However, ECHO succumbed to the pressure and lost 3 straight games that gave Blacklist their third franchise title.^[25] This will be ECHO's first appearance under the name ECHO as their last appearance in the Finals was during Season 5 when the team members were still playing under Sunsparks.

ECHO and Blacklist were the heavy favorites to win the title in Jakarta and continue the Philippines' dominance over the eSports industry in the region. During the group stages, ECHO was slated in Group C alongside RRQ Hoshi, RSG Singapore and Occupy Thrones. ECHO goes undefeated in the group stage and secures an Upper-Bracket appearance alongside RRQ.^[26]

In the Upper-Brackets however, ECHO would see themselves in a potential 3–2 reverse sweep situation after Team HAQ won two-straight games that forced their series into a Game 5. However, ECHO would defy Team HAQ the ability to reverse sweep and stomped the Malaysian representatives into the Lower-Brackets, winning Game 5 and set up a match between ONIC Esports.^[27][28]

The Upper-Bracket Semifinals featured two Philippines vs. Indonesia series with Blacklist and RRQ Hoshi being the other. ECHO would dismantle Kairi's ONIC Esports to take a 3–1 series victory and an Upper-Bracket Final position. Their victory was largely part of the exceptional performance Benedict "BennyQt" Gonzales showed in Game 4 that turned the tides in favor of their team.^[29]

In the Upper-Bracket Finals, ECHO solidified a PH vs. PH matchup between them and Blacklist International, a rematch of the Grand Finals of MPL PH S10. ECHO had the momentum and led a 2–1 series lead against Blacklist, however, Game 4 saw Salic "Hadji" Imam and Edward "EDWARD" Dapadap step up to force Game 5. Blacklist would dominate ECHO in Game 5 and booked their ticket to defend their world title in the Grand Finals, sending ECHO to the Lower-Bracket Finals for the second-time since the two teams matched together.^[30]

ECHO would matchup against RRQ Hoshi in the Lower-Bracket Finals, a match reunion between the team and their former head coach Arcadia. RRQ Hoshi was the final hope for Indonesia during the match after they swept MPL Indonesia's champions ONIC Esports to secure the Lower-Bracket Finals spot.^[31]

RRQ would tie the series 1–1 in a Game 2 comeback, however, ECHO's prowess in the battlefield proved to be too much for the "Kings of Kings" and ECHO was able to set a third rematch in the Grand Finals against Blacklist International.^[32]

ECHO would defy expectations and will win their first organization's international title, winning the MLBB M4 World Championships and defeating Blacklist International in the Grand Finals. ECHO's Benedict "BennyQt" Gonzales would be named Finals MVP and the team secured the Philippines' third World Title.^[33]

With their victory, the offseason for MPL Philippines Season 11 began and no notable changes were seen given ECHO's international victory.

ECHO would blow the start of MPL Philippines Season 11, going on a 6–0 undefeated record. ECHO would have the second-longest winning streak prior to the introduction of the franchise system in MPL history behind Blacklist International's 10–0 in Season 8.^[34] ECHO's win streak would subsequently come to an end however after losing to Bren Esports 2–1 during Week 5.

ECHO continued to dominate Season 11 and tied Bren Esports' record of 11–3 to secure the Upper-Bracket advantage.^[35] The team would collect accolades such as two Week MVPs for Gonzales and Cabrera.

ECHO was sent down to the Lower-Bracket Semis after a 3–2 defeat against RSG Slate Philippines (now RSG Philippines).^[36] ECHO was sent to face Bren Esports after a 3–1 defeat against Blacklist International. However, ECHO would make quick works of Bren and their rematch games against RSG Slate in the Lower-Bracket Finals, securing a second-consecutive Finals appearance.^[37] ECHO would continue their playoff berth as they sweep Blacklist International for the second time, securing their first MPL title as ECHO Philippines.^[38]

ECHO and Blacklist would remain in contention to represent the Philippines in MSC 2023 in Phnom Penh. ECHO would give a promising start after a 2–0 victory in the Group Stage against Fire Flux Impunity and Team EVO. ECHO would face-off Group D's 2nd Seed, TODAK in the Quarterfinals before they lost in a 3–0 sweep against ONIC Esports, avenging the lost in M4.^[39][40] ECHO's defeat brought them down to the third place match against BURN x FLASH after the team lost to Blacklist International.

ECHO were poised and were favored to win third place, however, BxF was able to send the series in five games. Regardless, ECHO won third place in MSC 2023 and a subsequent fallout of dominance from Filipino teams showed after Blacklist faltered in six against ONIC.^[41][42]

ECHO would intact their roster for the fourth-consecutive season. However, it is worth pointing out that Cabrera did not play during the opening of the season and instead, Jaypee, who was playing for ECHO's Development Roster, ECHO Proud, would be transferred to the MPL roster to replace Cabrera.^[43] As of September 29, 2023, ECHO remains undefeated with an 8–0 record, trouncing their 6–0 record from the previous season. ECHO defeated Blacklist International during the second leg of the season 2–0 that propelled the team as the only team to score a win-rate of above 80%.

ECHO Philippines went on an 11–0 undefeated run in MPL Philippines Season 12 and hopes were high to break Blacklist International's record from Season 8. Blacklist also went 11–0 in Season 8 but fell into a 2–0 defeat against ONIC Philippines that ended their abrupt undefeated run.^[44] No team has yet to accomplish such a feat other than ECHO. However, ECHO would lose in the same fashion as Blacklist did in Season 8, going down 2–0 against RSG Philippines that abruptly ended their undefeated streak. Despite Game 1 looking on ECHO's favor, a fatal play error and numerous pieces going down one-by-one, ECHO couldn't gain any more momentum coming into Game 2. ECHO now ties Blacklist International with the best Regular Season performance and the best regular season streak in MPL Philippines history with both teams going 11–0 in their abrupt run for the title.^[45]

ECHO Philippines, alongside its parent group AURA Esports whom is fueling teams in MPL Indonesia, announced their partnership with the Dutch-based organization Team Liquid that would immediately replace AURA as the parental group and partner for both teams. ECHO Philippines was renamed temporarily as "Liquid ECHO". The team will be participating as "Team Liquid PH for MPL Philippines Season 14.^[46]

On July 15, ECHO took home the Mobile Team of the Year award during the Mobile Gaming Awards 2023^[47] in Los Angeles, California. Besides the team's overall recognition, their gold laner Benedict "BennyQT" Gonzales also received the Mobile Player of the Year trophy, besting top-tier players like PUBG's Harsh "Goblin" Paudwal and Burenbayar "TOP" Altangerel, Clash Royale's Moamed "Mahamed Light" Tarek, Free Fire's Ratchanon "Moshi" Kunrayason, and Jeong "TENSAI" Seung-jin.

Team Liquid PH currently suffices its MPL Philippines roster and its MDL Philippines Development Roster.

MPL Philippines Season 14 Team Liquid PH Mobile Legends: Bang Bang roster
Players	Coaches
Role Handle Name Nationality EXP Lane Sanford Sanford Vinuya Philippines Jungler KarlTzy Karl Gabriel Nepomuceno Philippines Jungler Zaida  Justine Saida Palma Philippines Gold Lane Bennyqt Frederic Benedict Gonzales Philippines Roamer Jaypee (C) Jaypee Dela Cruz Philippines	Head coach Harold Francisco "Tictac" Reyes
Legend: (I) Inactive (S) Suspended Substitute Injury / Illness	Latest roster transaction: February 21, 2024.

References

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