KUALA LUMPUR: Malaysian team SMG's return to the Mobile Legends: Bang Bang (MLBB) M5 World Championship once again ended in heartbreak as they crashed out in the group stage in Manila on Thursday.
SMG only managed to find their footing in their final Group B match, beating Brazil's RRQ Akira 2-1 on Wednesday.
However, two opening defeats - 2-1 to Filipino side Blacklist International on Monday and 2-0 to Turkiye's Fire Flux Esports last Saturday - left them with a mountain to climb.
They finished third in Group B and returned home early from the World Championship.
SMG coach Ren Paolo Villanueva revealed that his men were slow to get off the block in Manila due to unforeseen circumstances.
"It's our first series, and from the first match-up, we were not that ready since we came here," said the Filipino in the post-match press conference.
"One of our players had passport issues, so we were down in our training here... we regret that we could have played better and decided better (during matches)."
Villanueva said their decision-making improved during matches, and their discipline made the difference.
"They (RRQ Akira) are a difficult team... we just kept executing our teamwork and macros," he said.
"Our decision-making after Game One and Two became better...we decided that players must wait for each other and go in at the same time."
The M5 marked SMG's second appearance at the World Championship after their debut in 2021 at the M3 in Singapore, where they failed to clear the group stage.
SMG qualified for the world meet after emerging as one of the two top teams in the Wild Card rounds in Petaling Jaya last month.
