All in or nothing!
With less than two weeks remaining before the MPL ID S11 playoffs in early April, RRQ Hoshi has made a surprising move by demoting their head coach and analyst, Michael “Arcadia” Angelo and Petra “Fiel” Giovanni, and replacing them with Regi “Bangduk” Kurniawan.
This decision comes after the team led by Calvyn “Vyn” suffered consecutive defeats in weeks 4 and 5, losing to Bigetron Alpha, Alter Ego, and Geek Slate.
RRQ Hoshi, which is currently in second place, is only one point ahead of Evos Legends (#3) and two points ahead of Geek Slate (#4). The team’s management made the decision to secure their spot in the playoffs by signing Bangduk, who is considered an underrated coach in the Indonesian Mobile Legends: Bang Bang Pro League (MPL) competition.
Bangduk has a successful track record, having led Alter Ego to the MPL ID S6 grand final and the MPL One Invitational in 2020, as well as to fourth place in M2 in the following year. However, he will face a new challenge with RRQ Hoshi, which has a star-studded team and the weight of the prestigious “king of kings” title.
Evos goes with a ‘minor’ switch
Meanwhile, Evos Legends has also made a change ahead of week 5 of MPL ID S11. Steven “Age” Andreas Gunawan will replace Stenley “Taxstump” Hermawan as head coach, and vice versa.
This decision comes after Evos suffered consecutive defeats in weeks 4 and 5, and some supporters even criticized Taxstump’s decision to rely on Sebastian “Arthur” Pendragon instead of Gerald “Dlar” Trinchera.
Although many believed the announcement was merely a gimmick, Age has a surprising record when it comes to draft pick in important matches. He previously led Evos to the grand finals of MPL ID Season 7 as the coach in May 2021 and is considered to be more experienced in dealing with the locker room situation.
As the remaining weeks of MPL ID S11 approach, both RRQ Hoshi and Evos Legends must be mindful of the small point difference between second and fifth place. Other teams have aggressively pursued points in the last two weeks and could overtake them in the standings.
