M7 Knockout Stage Guide: Format, Schedule, and Team Liquid vs Aurora Gaming Recap

The competition intensifies as the M7 World Championship enters the knockout stage, where only the elite teams in Mobile Legends: Bang Bang remain in contention.

Following a grueling Swiss Stage, eight teams, including two from the Philippines, advance to the knockout round, where every match is a do-or-die battle.

Format

All matches will be played in a best-of-three series, with winners advancing to the upper bracket semifinals.

Losing teams will not be eliminated immediately, instead dropping to the lower bracket Round 1, where another defeat will end their M7 campaign. The eventual winner of the lower bracket will face the winner of the upper bracket for the M7 title.

Schedule

January 18, Sunday

• 3:00 p.m. — Team Liquid (Philippines) vs. Aurora Gaming (Philippines)
• 5:00 p.m. — Aurora (Turkiye) vs. Yangon Galacticos (Myanmar)
• 7:00 p.m. — SRG (Malaysia) vs. Team Spirit (EECA)
• 9:00 p.m. — ONIC (Indonesia) vs. Alter Ego (Indonesia)

Team Liquid and Aurora Gaming: A Recap

Filipino squads Team Liquid and Aurora Gaming stood out in the Swiss Stage, both finishing with identical 3-1 records.

Team Liquid, the reigning back-to-back MPL Philippines champions and MSC titleholders, opened their campaign with a win over Aurora Gaming before posting mixed results against Team Falcons (1–0) and SRG (1–2). A crucial victory over Yangon Galacticos ultimately secured their spot in the knockout stage.

Aurora Gaming, meanwhile, rebounded strongly from their opening-day loss to Team Liquid, stringing together three straight wins against CFU Gaming, Team Zone, and Team Spirit to advance.

Fate now brings the two Filipino teams together once more, as Team Liquid and Aurora Gaming clash again in the knockout-stage opener.

—JKC, GMA Integrated News