MPL Season 17: The Post-M7 Landscape

Aurora Gaming PH swept Alter Ego 4-0 on January 25 at the Tennis Indoor Senayan in Jakarta. The Philippines clinched its sixth consecutive M-series title. And the moment that final Leomord respawn was denied, every roster move, every transfer negotiation, every coaching hire across Southeast Asia shifted toward a single objective: figure out how to beat this team in MPL Season 17.

That is the context heading into what might be the most active offseason in recent memory. MPL PH kicks off March 20. MPL ID follows on March 27. The race to MSC 2026 at the Esports World Cup in Riyadh starts now.

#What M7 Taught Every Coach in SEA

The clearest takeaway from the M7 Grand Finals is that Aurora's coaching staff read Alter Ego before AE could read themselves.

Head coach Aniel "Master the Basics" Jiandani said it plainly in the post-match: "We were able to predict what they were going to do because of what we saw from their matches in the lower bracket especially in draft and their execution."

Alter Ego leaned on Freya as a high-priority jungle comfort pick throughout the bracket, and Aurora simply banned it every game of the finals. That forced AE's Nino to pivot to a less reliable pool. The Baxia and Fredrinn bans that worked in the lower bracket became shackles when Aurora countered them systematically in the final four games.

The meta lesson: read the breadcrumbs from lower bracket teams before the grand final. AE lost because Aurora studied their patterns. Every coaching staff heading into S17 is writing that lesson down.

Light's Hylos in Game 1 set the tone with a 3/1/10 KDA while controlling every major objective. His Chou in Game 3 finished 1/1/11 as Aurora locked in the 3-0 match point. Roamers across SEA are now studying his vision-first approach to the role.

Demonkite's Lord steal in Game 4 of the upper bracket semifinal versus Alter Ego, pivoting to Leomord in the finals to punish their passive play, established him as the premier utility-assassin jungler in the world right now. Teams preparing for MPL PH S17 are not just banning his Leomord. They are preparing for every hero in his jungle pool.

#MPL PH Season 17: The Challengers Form Up

The most significant story of the PH offseason is not about Aurora. It is about everyone else trying to close the gap with a shortened runway.

Aurora Runs It Back

Aurora Gaming PH officially confirmed on February 25 that they are retaining the entire championship roster:

• Edward (EXP Lane)
• Demonkite (Jungle)
• Yue (Mid Lane)
• Domengkite (Gold Lane)
• Light (Roamer)

No changes. No experiments. A team that proved it already works does not need reconstruction.

The risk here is not talent. It is complacency. Teams have studied hours of M7 footage since January. By Week 3 of the regular season, teams will have prepared answers for Aurora's signature setups. The question is whether Yue and Light can evolve their drafting before those answers arrive.

Team Liquid PH Navigates the Oheb Era's End

Team Liquid PH enters S17 as MPL PH's defending domestic champion, winning Seasons 15 and 16. But the roster looks different.

Kiel "Oheb" Soriano, one of the most decorated gold laners in Philippine MLBB history, moves to the inactive roster. Liquid brings in Sultan "AeronnShikii" Muhammad, the former TLID gold laner, and Daiki as a rotation option in the gold lane.

KarlTzy, Sanford, Sanji, and Jaypee remain. The core is intact. But replacing Oheb's production in the gold lane is not a simple swap. AeronnShikii has MPL ID pedigree with Team Liquid ID, but the PH stage reads differently. Expect Liquid to have the rockiest first few weeks of any top-tier roster this season.

Coaching also changes. Ong Wei Shang, known as Coach AEON, takes over as head coach after stints with RSG SG and Team Flash. He brings cross-regional perspective to a team that was already structurally sound.

ONIC PH Makes History, Then Has to Justify It

ONIC PH signed Indonesian gold laner Clayton "Savero" Kuswanto, making him the first import in MPL Philippines history. That is not a minor footnote. It is a statement about where the regional talent ceiling sits.

The trade is essentially bilateral: Savero comes to Manila while Kelra crosses the Makabayan Strait to join ONIC ID. Kingkong, Brusko, Superfrince, and Ryota stay on. Haze takes over as head coach.

Savero is an aggressive laner with strong individual mechanics. But the integration period on a new team, in a new country, facing a meta that moves faster than any other region, is real. ONIC PH is betting the payoff outweighs the early-season friction. Given that they finished Season 16 in a shock lower bracket semifinal exit, the organization clearly decided incremental changes were not enough.

Team Falcons: Hadji Arrives, Pheww Exits

Team Falcons swapped two midlaner legends. Pheww, an MPL Hall of Legends inductee and two-time world champion, is out. Salic "Hadji" Imam, who just departed Smart Omega, is in.

Hadji brings deep playoff experience: two MPL titles (Seasons 8 and 10 with Blacklist), an M3 championship. He also has a reputation as one of the region's best tempo-control midlaners. Coach Ducky returns to the bench, the same coach who guided the core (then AP.Bren) to the M5 title.

This roster has championship experience woven through every role. Flap, Kyle, Super Marco, Owgwen, and now Hadji with Ducky calling shots. If execution is there from Week 1, Falcons could be a genuine top-three team.

AP.Bren's Kielvj Homecoming

Kielvj returns to AP.Bren after a stint abroad, most recently with China's DianFengYaoGuai at MSC 2025. His candor during the roster reveal was worth noting: "Sa bawat shotcall ko, dapat tama, syempre ikaw pinagkakatiwalaan ng team."

That self-awareness from a veteran is more encouraging than confidence from a rookie. AP.Bren has finished 8th in consecutive seasons. Kielvj knows the weight of the captain's armband.

Smart Omega and the Hadji Replacement Problem

Smart Omega moves on from Hadji and brings in Karl "Minguin" Gallantes, fresh from MDL PH Season 6 with RRQ Kaito. He steps onto the MPL stage for the first time as a starter. That is simultaneously exciting and concerning.

Perkz, who spent S15 and S16 as Team Liquid PH's sixth man, returns to the starting five. The ceiling is there. The floor is uncertain. Smart Omega finished 7th in S16. Jumping to the top six requires Minguin to perform immediately, not gradually.

Twisted Minds: The Dual Gold Lane Experiment

Owl returns from a stint in China with Guangzhou Gaming and reunites with head coach BON CHAN, the same coach who guided him at the 31st Southeast Asian Games. Twisted Minds runs a dual gold lane system, rotating Owl and Nosia based on draft and matchup.

BON CHAN's ability to exploit that flexibility in picks and bans could be creative chaos or structural confusion. Week 1 tells a lot.

#MPL ID Season 17: Indonesia Rebuilds Around New Alliances

MPL ID starts March 27 with the roster lock officially closed as of February 19. The biggest story is a cross-regional swap that reshapes two of Indonesia's most historic franchises.

ONIC ID Gets Kelra, Loses Its World Champion Core

ONIC ID went to the M7 Grand Finals and lost 0-4. In response, they signed Kelra, one of the best gold laners the Philippines has ever produced, while Kiboy shifted roles to accommodate new blood Ssamuel from ONIC Prime.

Kairi stays. Kelra joins. That is a gold-jungle duo that won multiple domestic titles on opposite sides of the regional divide. The question is whether a Philippine-dominant playstyle translates inside an Indonesian system. ONIC ID will be fascinating from Week 1.

RRQ Hoshi: Super Kenn and Dan Strengthen the Core

RRQ adds Super Kenn from Bigetron and Filipino EXP laner Dan from RRQ Kaito. Both were relatively under-the-radar pickups, but RRQ's track record of developing unconventional acquisitions, see Qinn's trajectory at Dewa United last season, gives them credibility.

Rinz, Toyy, and Idok anchor the roster. Coach Khezcute is back. RRQ remains one of the most structurally stable franchises in the region.

Alter Ego Regroups After M7 Final Heartbreak

AE lost the M7 Grand Finals after eliminating both Team Liquid PH and SRG to reach the championship stage. The roster details for S17 are still being finalized, but the core of Alek, Yazuke, Nino, Hijumee, and Arfy is confirmed. Xepher stays as coach.

This team knows what the Grand Finals stage looks like. They also know what it feels like to get swept by a team that out-prepared them. AE's S17 will be defined by whether they evolve their draft strategy or double down on the aggressive brawl identity that brought them to the final.

#The M7 Meta Carries Into S17 Drafts

The Aurora-Alter Ego finals established clear draft priorities that every MPL team will carry into the first weeks of Season 17.

Freya remains a first-phase ban magnet. AE's reliance on the hero was exploited systematically. Any team that shows jungle comfort picks in the lower bracket should expect them locked out in a final.

Roamer utility over aggression. Light's Hylos, Chou, and Khaleed performances demonstrated that the roamer's primary job is objective control and peel, not kill accumulation. Expect more Hylos, Khufra, and Estes appearances from top-tier roamers in S17.

Leomord resurfaces as a high-value answer. Demonkite used Leomord twice in the M7 run to devastating effect. It is already a target ban going into S17.

Lapu-Lapu EXP is a top-priority pick. Edward's consistent Lapu-Lapu outings in the finals reinforced the hero as a must-have for physical EXP laners. Edward himself called it a signature.

#Who Challenges Aurora?

Speculatively, three teams have the pieces to push Aurora in MPL PH S17.

Team Liquid PH has the KarlTzy-Sanford-Sanji core that dominated domestic competition. If AeronnShikii settles quickly and Coach AEON's system clicks, Liquid is the most structurally equipped roster to match Aurora's discipline.

Team Falcons with Hadji and Coach Ducky could peak faster than any rebuilding team in the league. The coaching continuity matters. Ducky knows this exact core.

ONIC PH is the wildcard. If Savero integrates without friction and the remaining core recaptures their S14 form under new head coach Haze, they could be a surprise top-two finisher. If the import experiment stumbles early, they might miss playoffs again.

In MPL ID, ONIC ID with Kelra and Kairi is the team every other franchise in Indonesia should fear. That gold-jungle pairing has the individual skill to carry series alone. If the system around them supports it, ONIC ID enters M7 preparation mode early.

The post-M7 window does not last long. MPL PH opens in three and a half weeks. Aurora is defending everything. Everyone else is hunting.

The Northern Lights do not get to stay comfortable.

#Frequently Asked Questions

When does MPL PH Season 17 start?

MPL PH Season 17 kicks off on March 20, 2026.

When does MPL ID Season 17 start?

MPL ID Season 17 starts March 27, 2026.

Is Aurora Gaming PH keeping the same roster for MPL PH Season 17?

Yes. Aurora Gaming PH confirmed they are retaining the full M7 championship roster: Edward, Demonkite, Yue, Domengkite, and Light.

Who is the first import in MPL Philippines history?

Indonesian gold laner Clayton "Savero" Kuswanto, signed by ONIC PH ahead of Season 17, is the first-ever import player in MPL Philippines history.

What does MPL Season 17 lead into?

The top teams from MPL PH and MPL ID S17 will qualify for the MLBB Mid Season Cup (MSC 2026), scheduled as part of the Esports World Cup 2026 in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia.