MPL MY Season 18 playoffs: Team Vamos and Bigetron advance as Team Flash and Invictus Gaming go out

The MPL Malaysia Season 18 playoffs opened in Kuala Lumpur on Wednesday with two elimination series, and both went 3-1. Team Vamos beat Team Flash, and Bigetron MY by VIT knocked out Invictus Gaming. Team Flash and Invictus Gaming are out. Vamos and Bigetron move on to Thursday's upper-bracket semi-finals against the top two seeds, Team Rey and Selangor Red Giants.

Natco leads Team Vamos past Team Flash

Third seeds Team Vamos started as favourites against sixth-placed Team Flash. They had beaten Flash twice in the regular season, 2-1 in August and 2-0 earlier this month. They lost one game on Wednesday but controlled the series, finishing with 33 kills to Flash's 23 over four games.

Natco was the standout, ending the series with 14 kills, eight assists and no deaths. Claw Kun also went through the series without dying, adding seven kills and 20 assists. Vamos finished the regular season 10-4. Team Flash reached the playoffs with a 5-9 record.

Bigetron recover after losing game one

Invictus Gaming made the better start in the evening series. They won game one in 17 minutes 40 seconds, with 19 kills to seven. Bigetron MY by VIT then won three games in a row. They levelled with a 17-7 win, took game three in just over 11 minutes, and closed out a tighter 24-minute game four 9-6 on kills.

Zieyy was named series MVP with nine kills and 30 assists, involved in 86 per cent of his team's kills. CikuGais top-scored for Bigetron with 17 kills and Chibi added 13. For Invictus Gaming, Lunnn had 16 kills and Atannn 25 assists, but their season ends in the first round.

Thursday: upper-bracket semi-finals

The two top seeds had byes into the upper bracket, and both play their first playoff series today (Malaysia time):

• 3pm: Team Rey vs Team Vamos
• 7pm: Selangor Red Giants vs Bigetron MY by VIT

Selangor Red Giants topped the regular season with an 11-3 record and are the team to beat. Two more series follow on Friday, the lower-bracket final is on Saturday 31 October at 5.30pm, and the grand final is on Sunday 1 November at 5.30pm. Every playoff series is best-of-five except the lower-bracket final and grand final, which are best-of-seven.

Venue, tickets and M8 places

The playoffs are being held at Stadium Juara in Bukit Kiara. The grand final is billed for the CelcomDigi Dream Stage, and tickets for it reportedly sold out within an hour. The season also uses a new rule called the "Annual Map Change", which gives every game a random map twist.

The stakes are high. The MPL Malaysia playoffs carry two automatic places at the M8 World Championship main stage, which will be held in Istanbul, Türkiye, in January 2027. Malaysia has a second route through the MLBB Championship Tour South-East Asia. There, the champion of the development league, MAL MY, faces the development-league champions of Indonesia and the Philippines for a place in the MCT SEA playoffs.

Key takeaways

• Team Vamos beat Team Flash 3-1, with Natco going 14-0-8.
• Bigetron MY by VIT beat Invictus Gaming 3-1 after losing game one, and Zieyy was named MVP.
• Team Flash and Invictus Gaming are eliminated.
• Thursday's semi-finals are Team Rey vs Vamos at 3pm and SRG vs Bigetron at 7pm.

FAQ

Q: When is the MPL MY Season 18 grand final?

It is on Sunday 1 November at 5.30pm Malaysia time, at the CelcomDigi Dream Stage. It is a best-of-seven series.

Q: How many M8 slots does MPL Malaysia get?

The playoffs offer two automatic places at the M8 main stage in Istanbul in January 2027. More M8 places are available through MCT South-East Asia, which Malaysia's development-league champion can enter.

Q: Why did Team Rey and Selangor Red Giants not play on Wednesday?

They finished first and second in the regular season, so they went straight into the upper-bracket semi-finals. Teams ranked third to sixth played the first round.

Sources: Life News Agency, Aksiz, MPL Malaysia