The MPL Indonesia Season 18 regular season has come to an end. One of the biggest stories of the group stage was Natus Vincere’s performance — the team won 12 of their 16 matches, finished second and secured a direct spot in the second round of the playoffs. NAVI are now just two wins away from qualifying for the M8 World Championship.
The MPL Indonesia Season 18 regular season lasted nine weeks. Team Liquid ID finished at the top of the standings with a 12-4 record and a +15 game differential. NAVI recorded the same number of wins and points but finished second due to a slightly worse game differential — +13 compared to Liquid’s +15.
Alter Ego finished third with a 10-6 record, while Bigetron by Vitality took fourth place with the same 10-6 result. EVOS and ONIC also qualified for the playoffs after finishing fifth and sixth, respectively. Dewa United, RRQ Hoshi and Geek Fam ID failed to advance to the next stage.
NAVI’s best result in MPL Indonesia
Second place is NAVI’s best result since the organization entered MPL Indonesia. The team debuted in Season 15, finishing ninth and missing the playoffs. NAVI improved to a 5th-6th place finish in Season 16 before once again being eliminated during the regular season in MPL Indonesia Season 17.
Season 18 has been a completely different story. NAVI won 12 of their 16 series and finished the regular season with an overall 25-12 game record. Among other results, the team defeated Team Liquid ID twice, winning 2-0 in both meetings. NAVI also recorded two victories each over EVOS, RRQ Hoshi, Dewa United and Geek Fam ID.
During the final week of the regular season, NAVI defeated RRQ Hoshi 2-1 before losing their final match against Bigetron by Vitality 0-2. Despite the defeat, the points accumulated earlier in the season were enough for NAVI to retain second place.
One of the standout players on the roster has been 16-year-old Joshua “Joshuaa” Adonai Nathan Kurniawan. At the end of Week 9, he received his fifth Rookie of the Week award of the season. He had previously been named Week 8 MVP following NAVI’s victory over Dewa United.
NAVI have already competed at an M-series World Championship
M8 would not be Natus Vincere’s first appearance at an M-series World Championship. The organization previously competed at the M3 World Championship, held in Singapore in December 2021.
Back then, NAVI represented the CIS region and managed to reach the playoffs. The team finished 7th-8th, losing a close 2-3 series against BloodThirstyKings. NAVI did not compete at M4, M5, M6 or M7.
Therefore, successfully qualifying for M8 would mark the organization’s return to Mobile Legends’ biggest tournament for the first time in around five years.
However, the current NAVI roster has a completely different history. The organization entered the Indonesian scene much later, meaning qualification for M8 would be the first M-series World Championship appearance for NAVI Indonesia.
NAVI are two wins away from M8
Finishing second in the regular season is particularly important because of the playoff format. The teams that finished first and second skip the opening round and advance directly to Round 2 of the double-elimination bracket. Teams placed third through sixth begin their playoff runs in Round 1.
In Round 2, NAVI will face the winner of Alter Ego vs ONIC. On the other side of the upper bracket, Team Liquid ID will face the winner of Bigetron by Vitality vs EVOS.
The playoffs are about more than just the MPL Indonesia championship. The top two teams will earn direct spots at the M8 World Championship. This means NAVI only need to win two consecutive matches in the upper bracket — Round 2 and the Upper Bracket Final — to guarantee a place in the MPL Indonesia Season 18 Grand Final and, with it, qualification for M8.
Even a defeat would not immediately end NAVI’s chances. Thanks to their second-place regular-season finish, they enter the double-elimination portion of the playoffs and would have another opportunity to fight through the lower bracket. Ultimately, NAVI need to become one of the two MPL Indonesia Season 18 finalists to secure their M8 spot.
The M8 World Championship is scheduled to take place in 2027. The premier MLBB world championship will feature a $1 million prize pool, with Indonesia receiving two direct slots.
The upcoming playoffs could therefore become historic for NAVI. After several difficult seasons in Indonesia, the team has finished second in the MPL ID regular season for the first time and now stands just two wins away from bringing the NAVI tag back to the M World Championship for the first time since M3.
As a reminder, Natus Vincere are the Ignite 2026 Stage 2: EMEA champions in Marvel Rivals.