KUALA LUMPUR: Malaysia's Team Vamos advanced to the knockout stage of the Mobile Legends: Bang Bang (MLBB) M6 World Championship with a stunning 2-0 victory over North America's BloodThirstyKings (BTK) today.
The match at the IOI Grand Exhibition and Convention Centre in Putrajaya, carried added tension as home fans rallied behind Vamos to eliminate BTK, particularly their controversial Jungler, Michael "MobaZane" Cosgun.
MobaZane had recently sparked outrage by posting an Instagram Story with the derogatory term "noob" above the Malaysian flag.
Although the 23-year-old American later apologised, his actions left a sour taste among Malaysian MLBB fans.
Vamos Jungler Nazhan "Chibi" Nor celebrated the win with a pointed response to MobaZane's earlier antics.
"MobaZane was the noob, not his team — he's the one that weighed them down, otherwise, they could have won," said Nazhan.
"I'm pleased to get revenge over the North American team."
Vamos coach Khairul Azman "Pabz" Sharif echoed the sentiments, stressing that insults against Malaysia would not be tolerated.
"We can accept criticism of the MLBB Professional League Malaysia (MPLMY) or even of Vamos and Selangor Red Giants (SRG), but mocking our country is unacceptable. We are very patriotic," said Pabz at the post-match press conference.
"This win is a big morale boost after our struggles in previous series, where we failed to reach the knockout stage. Our hard work is finally paying off. We're not concerned about who we'll face next — we'll focus on our game."
The M6 knockout stage will take place at the Axiata Arena in Bukit Jalil from Dec 7-15.