Team Zone, Boostgate Esports advance to Swiss Stage after M7 wildcard thrillers

Team Zone and Boostgate Esports claimed the final spots in the M7 World Championship Swiss Stage after surviving separate best-of-five semifinals in the Wildcard Decider, capping a week of high-stakes competition, Jan. 6.

The Wildcard Stage ran from Jan. 3–6, 2026, opening with a group phase in which eight teams were split into two groups and played a single round-robin of best-of-three matches. 

The top two teams from each group advanced to the Decider Stage, where best-of-five series determined the final qualifiers to the Swiss Stage.

Team Zone edged Guangzhou Gaming, 3–2, in a tense series that saw the favorites repeatedly pushed to the brink, dropping the first two maps before mounting a resilient comeback to claim victory in the final three games.

Guangzhou struck first behind Prince “Canoneo” Canoneo, who earned MVP honors in Game 1, and Zhou “Meii” Ri, whose dominant Game 2 showing left the favorites facing elimination.

With their tournament lives on the line, Team Zone leaned on experience and composure, carefully coordinating their rotations, securing objectives, and maintaining calm under pressure to gradually turn the series in their favor.

Zolboo “Kenni” Tsogtbaatar, Erkhembayar “Bankai” Batkhuu and Bagabandi “Zxaura” Tegshjargal delivered MVP performances across the final three maps. 

The series ended with a dramatic deciding game, highlighted by a last-stand base defense that swung late momentum and sealed the comeback, with the win completing a reverse sweep after Team Zone dropped the opening two maps.

Boostgate Esports also needed the full distance, surviving a grueling five-game battle against Virtus.pro, trading wins back and forth before ultimately claiming the series 3–2 in a nail-biting decider that tested both teams’ endurance and strategy.

Virtus.pro opened strong behind Denis “BadKot” Bogomadov, the Game 1 MVP, and stayed alive through Zaur “zauregoist” Magomadov’s MVP effort in Game 3. 

Boostgate responded with late-game control led by Mehmed “Kazue” Öztürk, a two-time MVP in the series, and Necdet “Rx” Arslan, the Game 4 MVP. 

The decider ended in dramatic fashion when Mehmed “Kazue” Öztürk executed a flawless series-winning Shadow Kill, dismantling Virtus.pro’s defenses and securing the final map, a play that not only clinched the match but also sent Boostgate Esports through to the Swiss Stage.

Both semifinals were called by an international casting trio, Laphel of Malaysia and Indonesia’s Mirko and Gonie—highlighting the global scope and intensity of the wildcard stage.

With their victories, Team Zone and Boostgate Esports advance to the Swiss Stage, where they will face Yangon Galacticos and ONIC, respectively, in best-of-one opening-round matches on Jan. 10, with winners moving closer to the M7 World Championship main event.

Swiss Stage Round 1 begins Jan. 10 (GMT) with ONIC facing Boostgate Esports at 7 a.m., followed by Black Sentence Esports against CFU Gaming at 8 a.m. Team Zone meets Yangon Galacticos at 9 a.m., before DianFengYaoGuai takes on Team Falcons at 10 a.m. 

The schedule continues with Evil versus Team Spirit at 11 a.m., Selangor Red Giants against CG Esports at noon, Aurora Gaming PH facing Team Liquid PH at 1 p.m., and Alter Ego closing the round against Aurora Gaming at 2 p.m.

All matches will be streamed live on Mobile Legends: Bang Bang’s official Twitch and YouTube channels, giving fans around the world real-time access to every map, play, and clutch moment from the Swiss Stage.