Malaysia has taken down the host nation on home soil at the 32nd SEA Games in Phnom Penh, Cambodia. In a nail-biting 2–1 series, Malaysia has now advanced to the Grand Finals where they await their final opponent which will be decided tonight in the match between Myanmar and the Philippines.

You can check out the MLBB results at the 32nd SEA Games here!

How Malaysia made it to the Grand Finals

It all began yesterday, Friday, 12 May as we saw the tournament’s Group Stage commence. With Malaysia being in Group A alongside the Philippines, Laos, Timor-Leste and Vietnam, it was almost a given that Malaysia was going to secure one of the top two seeds to qualify out of Groups.

The only hill the team would have to climb would be facing the Philippines, as they are currently seen as the strongest region in the world at the moment. But then again, the Philippines weren’t fielding their strongest possible roster as their team was solely comprised of Bren Esports, who placed 4th in their domestic league.

So with this, toppling the Philippines was certainly not out of the question. And they did as such as Malaysia went undefeated in Group A with a record of 4–0.

Coming into today, they were pitted against the second seed from Group B, Cambodia, another respectable region who are recognised amongst the Top 4 strongest regions in the world, so this wasn’t going to be easy.

Game 1 saw Malaysia choose a composition consisting of Lapu-Lapu, Lancelot, Pharsa, Karrie and Chou. Despite the aggressive composition, Malaysia started off slow, which Cambodia took full advantage of and eventually steamed through Malaysia in just 16 minutes to claim the first point on the board.

Going into Game 2, Malaysia decided to switch things up in the draft and opted for a different composition revolving around Akai, Kadita, Martis and Joy as well as stealing Claude away from the hosting nation. This strategy proved to do wonders as after a gruelling 25-minute game, the Harimau finally claimed victory, bringing the equalising the score to 1–1.

Hot off the last game, Malaysia decided to change things up yet again, opting to stick with Martis and Lapu-Lapu from Game 1, partnered with Valentina, Beatrix and Grock to round out the draft. Changing the draft up again seemed to work in Malaysia’s favour as they went on to demolish Cambodia in a similar way they experienced themselves in Game 1, ending Game 3 in just 15 minutes and 22 seconds and securing their spot in the Grand Final and a chance at the Gold Medal.

You can catch Malaysia in the Grand Finals tomorrow, 14 May, at 4:00 PM (UTC+8) live on the official MLBB Esports YouTube channel where they will face off against the winner of Myanmar and the Philippines.