“We Expected to Face Verso Time in the Finals”: An Interview with Boyet of Team Falcons at MSC 2026
Team Falcons’ Mobile Legends player: Bang Bang Bien “Boyet” Chumesera, in an interview with OFFSTAGE at the MLBB Mid-Season Cup 2026, compared his current club to previous ones in his career, discussed the recent growth of the Middle East region, and shared advice for junglers.
Hi! This is the third year in a row that the Mid-Season Cup has been held as part of the Esports World Cup. Do you follow other EWC tournaments—perhaps to keep an eye on other teams within your organization?
I follow the others—for example, Team Falcons’ rosters in Dota 2 and Apex Legends—all the disciplines where the Falcons compete. I enjoy watching their victories and seeing how they earn club points.
Team Falcons has several rosters competing in the tournament within a single discipline—MLBB. Do you guys communicate with each other or train together?
No, we didn’t have any practice sessions at all before the tournament; everyone was at home because some of us had to study, so there wasn’t any time to practice or hang out with the other teams.
You’ve played for various clubs throughout your career, but it seems like Team Falcons is the largest of them. Are there differences in how the teams are organized, in the level of support, or in how the staff operates?
All teams differ in terms of how they look after their players, communicate with them, and handle esports operations. I’d say the Falcons are the best of the teams I’ve played for because they take care of me—and not just me, but all the teams in the organization.
In the wild-card round, you managed to beat the group leaders—FUT Esports and The Huns Esports. Did you expect this result, and what enabled you to achieve it?
Of course, everyone expected them to want to win—that’s the whole point. As for me, as I mentioned, we didn’t practice, but we knew we could win even without preparation. Our confidence was based on our experience in scrims against them: we were aware of their weaknesses, as well as their and our strengths. The other players and I knew we were capable of winning.
How much do you think the meta in the main stage of the tournament will differ from the wild card stage? How long does it take to set aside old strategies and focus on new ones?
I don’t have an answer to that question yet. We don’t know; we haven’t been practicing much. We’re relying on our existing knowledge and individual execution. We can adapt quickly to the meta. It will depend on whether we play well or poorly.
Verso Time from EECA was also supposed to play in your group. Do you think the wild-card results might have been different if they had made it to the EWC?
I don’t think the result would have changed, but we would have expected to face Verso Time in the final. We compete against them often—they’re a strong team from Russia, too. But we would have remained confident regardless. We know we’re capable of beating anyone.
You’ve been playing in MENA for over a year and a half now. How has the region changed during that time?
It’s changed a lot. Before I moved to MENA, the region had no achievements to speak of—no playoff appearances at international tournaments. They just qualified because of the available slots—there was one spot at M7 and one at the EWC. Despite having that slot, they never won.
When I was putting the team together, we wanted to show that we could compete with other regions. Look at where we finished at M7; at the 2025 Future Games in Abu Dhabi, we achieved the region’s best result on the international stage. So a lot has changed, and the other regions need to take note.
Next, I have a few questions about the meta. The game recently changed the time it takes to reach level two in the jungle. Do you like the new system?
It’s a decent change. It makes things more interesting because everyone can gank and easily invade the enemy jungle. So it’ll depend on how the early game plays out—who stops whom from reaching level two.
Tell us about your impressions of Hirara. Is the new hero really that difficult to play, or is learning her skill rotation enough to play her well?
Learning to play her isn’t that hard—you just need to practice. And if you want to go on the offensive at level two, she’s a great choice, since with enough skill, she can take down anyone. So you just need to practice with the hero before the match and rotate your skills quickly, keeping the new system in mind.
Every Ranger has their own playstyle: some focus on farming in their own half of the jungle, while others aggressively attack the enemy side of the map. How do you decide when to enter the enemy jungle and when not to? Can you give some advice to casual players?
You should avoid venturing out as a Jungler if the enemy isn’t there or is farming on their side, since you can get punished for it. This happened to us: we tried to push into the opponent’s base without knowing where they were, and we got punished for it. You should only push when you can see the opponent or when you have a significant advantage.
And finally, a quick Q&A. Can you name the top three heroes for the jungle in the current meta?
For me, the top hero right now is Hirara. Harley is also still a solid choice, and the third is Ling.
Which hero would you permanently remove from MLBB?
I’d remove Mia and Yin. Mia is toxic in ranked matches; I don’t like playing against her—she always wins.
Which hero is too strong right now, and which ones, on the other hand, should be brought back into the pro scene meta?
I’d say Yin and Hirara are a bit too strong right now. They farm very quickly, and once they buy 2–3 items, they can carry the game.
As for underrated heroes, they’re the old junglers—Saber or Joy. They’re severely underrated; some players don’t value junglers, but they’re the ones who ensure a strong early game for the team, since they focus on objectives and the enemy jungler.
Team Falcons MENA lost to Team Vamos in their first match of the group stage of the MLBB Mid Season Cup 2026. On August 1, the team will face IGNITE Gaming in a single-elimination match; the winner will advance further in Group A.
Gleb Brekhov
