Aurora Gaming enters MPL PH scene as EVOS bolts out of PH

One of the most prominent teams in PC gaming worldwide has formally entered the most competitive regions for Mobile Legends: Bang Bang in the world.

Serbian esports organization Aurora Gaming announced it is taking over the slot vacated by Minana EVOS in the incoming MPL Philippines Season 14 through a series of social media posts Tuesday night.

The Northern Lights in the Land of Dawn

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Photo Courtesy: Facebook/Aurora MLBB

This is the Serbian esports organization’s first foray into MLBB, after having fielded teams in Counter-Strike 2, Dota 2, and Apex Legends.

The team is set to fully announce its roster on July 27th, with a small clue embedded in its invite poster: the VeeWise logo, used by world champions Johnmar “OhMyV33nus” Villanueva and Danerie James “Wise” del Rosario.

Just a week ago, VeeWise had announced their departure from Blacklist International, the team they stayed in from 2020-2024.

Speculation is also rife about potential roster members, but none had been confirmed as of press time.

However, subtle hints may have been dropped – as Kenneth “Yue” Tadeo and Edward Jay “Edward” Dapadap have also left Blacklist International.

Setsuna “Dogie” Ignacio had also dropped what could be potential roster members in the persons of Yue, Edward, Renejay, and former Minana EVOS player Jan Dominic “Domeng” del Mundo.

Taking over Minana EVOS’ slot

MPL Philippines, Minana and EVOS also announced earlier that the team has departed from the MPL Philippines roster, freeing up one slot for teams to enter in the picture.

EVOS has had a tumultuous run in MPL Philippines, starting off when it entered as Nexplay EVOS through a partnership with Nexplay in 2021. This iteration placed 5th-6th in MPL Philippines Season 9 and was 7th out of 8 teams in both Seasons 10 and 11.

By Season 12, Minana Esports took over the partnership from Nexplay, where the team placed 7th in that same season. By Season 13, the team qualified for what would become its first and only playoffs appearance as Minana EVOS.

The entire roster has also been released, freeing up players to join other organizations as unrestricted free agents.

Throughout its history, Nexplay EVOS and Minana EVOS have since become stepping stones for its players to be discovered and scouted by other organizations, the most prominent being Tristan “Yawi” Cabrera, who played for ECHO/Team Liquid Indonesia, John Paul “H2wo” Salonga, who was then scouted by RSG Philippines, and Renejay “Renejay” Barcarse, who ended up playing for Blacklist International.

Aurora Gaming has teased its launch to happen on July 27th at 6pm GMT+8 in Manila, Philippines, of which fans can attend for free.

Paolo Barcelon

Paolo Barcelon is Fragster.com's esports correspondent based in Manila, Philippines. He is a multiplatform journalist with television and digital journalism experience reporting for CNN Philippines. He covered national and international news, focusing on general breaking news in the Philippines's economic and governmental hub: the Greater Manila Area. Paolo also anchors the first-ever esports and gaming show on Philippine radio, "Press Start Pilipinas", which airs every Saturday on government-owned DZSR Radyo Pilipinas 2 Sports 918 kHz AM from 12nn-1pm. He also currently works as a Kinterviewer for Kintell.com, a top online knowledge-sharing platform.