SINGAPORE - After facing each other in the local leagues, Blacklist International and Onic PH will have a rematch of sorts in the world stage - as they duke it out for the M3 World Championships title at the Suntec Singapore Convention and Exhibition Centre here.

The winner will take home $300,000 US dollars - the lion's share of an $800,000 prize pool - and the title as the best Mobile Legends: Bang Bang team in the world.

It is a rematch for both squads after they squared off in the Grand Finals of MPL - Philippines Season 8, with Blacklist winning the local title.

ONIC PH

Entering the world championships, Onic PH vowed to surprise. And they did, with a lineup switch that saw Jaylord "Hate" Gonzales at the gold lane and Baloyskie taking in the roam position.

From being doubted to cracking through the early stages of the playoffs, MPL - Philippines runners-up Onic PH is now one of the top two teams in the tournament, next to Filipino counterparts Blacklist.

After losing to Indonesian counterparts Onic ID in their first outing, coach Paul Denver "Yeb" Miranda's squad never looked back, winning their next group stage outings against Keyd Stars and Todak en route to the top spot in the "Group of Death."

From there, they were an unstoppable force, banking on a lineup which saw some shake-ups to dominate the upper brackets, sinking RSG Singapore and BloodThirstyKings to the lower bracket, en route to the first Grand Finals slot.

• Mobile Legends: Different hero lineup? ONIC PH vows to surprise in M3

With the statement entry to the finals, team captain Allen "Baloyskie" Baloy said the doubt cast on them became their source of strength.

"Hindi ko talaga minind yung power rankings. Pero lalo siyang nakaka-motivate para sa'min kasi gusto namin i-prove kung sino ang the best," Baloyskie said.

Blacklist International

Blacklist International - favored to dominate all throughout - took an unexpected road block en route to the grand finals slot which came in the form of a 3-2 loss against North American underdogs BloodThirstyKings in the upper bracket playoffs.

From there, they had to go through the lower bracket, avenging against Onic Indonesia, eliminating Keyd Stars, title favorites RRQ Hoshi, hometown team EVOS SG and capping that off with a vengeful 3-1 win against BTK to take the last Grand Finals slot.

With the win, head coach Kristoffer "Bon Chan" Ricaplaza says it's safe to say that the Philippines is the most dominant in the ML scene.

"I'm so happy that everywhere in the world, when you hear Mobile Legends, the first thing that will come to their minds is the strongest [country] which is the Philippines. We proved it. Right now, there's two Filipino teams in the Grand Finals," Bon Chan told reporters after their win against BTK.

Both squads will face each other at 5 p.m., Sunday.