In Mobile Legends: Bang Bang, there are organizations that simply win tournaments, and there are teams that become part of the game's history itself. ONIC Esports belongs to the second category. Over the years, the organization has built one of the most recognizable esports systems in Southeast Asia, created legendary rosters in Indonesia and the Philippines, developed world-class stars, and repeatedly found itself at the center of some of the most important events in MLBB history.
ONIC entered the professional Mobile Legends scene in 2018, when the organization began competing in MPL Indonesia Season 2. Its first roster consisted of Eiduart, Spade, Watt, Drian, and Fenrir and immediately managed to finish in third place. However, the real breakthrough came the following season. That was when ONIC created a roster that would forever remain in MLBB history under the name Five Kage.
In MPL Indonesia Season 3, ONIC competed with a roster consisting of Udil, Drian, Psychoo, Sasa, and Antimage. The five players became known as Five Kage, and their playstyle became one of the symbols of the early MLBB professional scene.
ONIC finished both the regular season and the playoffs without a single defeat, achieving one of the most impressive results in the early history of MPL Indonesia. The team showcased an aggressive playstyle, strong individual mechanics, and tremendous confidence in its decisions. Five Kage transformed ONIC from a promising young organization into one of the biggest brands in Indonesian MLBB.
However, the road ahead proved more difficult. ONIC was unable to maintain its absolute dominance, and the roster gradually began to change. The organization went through several rebuilds and a period when its results no longer matched the status of a team that had once gone an entire season undefeated.
This ability to rebuild after difficult periods would later become one of ONIC's defining characteristics.
In 2019, the organization expanded its presence in MLBB and created a Philippine roster — ONIC Philippines. This decision became one of the most important in the brand's subsequent history, as the Philippines eventually became ONIC's second major scene.
ONIC PH's first major success came in MPL Philippines Season 4. The team reached the grand final, where it lost to Sunsparks, finishing as the runner-up. This result earned the Philippine roster a spot at the first M World Championship.
At M1 2019, ONIC PH represented the Philippines with a roster featuring Dlar, Wise, Iy4knu, Greed, and OhMyV33NUS, while Zico was the substitute player. It was the organization's first international appearance at the highest level. However, the tournament ended for ONIC PH in the group stage.
Despite the disappointing result, this period was when future stars began to emerge. The development of players such as Wise, OhMyV33NUS, Dlar, and Kairi became particularly important. The story of ONIC PH effectively became the story of an entire generation of Filipino professionals.
After several rebuilds, ONIC PH returned to the world stage at the M3 World Championship in 2021. This time, the team looked completely different. Its roster included Dlar, Kairi, Hatred, Markyyyyy, and Baloyskie, along with Beemo and coach Yeb.
One of the most interesting aspects was the experiment with player roles. Baloyskie and Hatred became part of an unusual approach for that era, allowing ONIC PH to advance through the upper bracket and create serious problems for its opponents. Their unconventional decisions and role swaps became one of the major talking points of M3.
ONIC PH reached the grand final, where it faced Blacklist International. In the final, the team lost 0:4, but second place at M3 was the organization's best international result at that point. ONIC PH earned $120,000 in prize money, while the final itself became an all-Filipino showdown.
For ONIC, this was the moment when the organization firmly established itself among the most recognizable brands in global MLBB.
But it was after M3 that one of the most important turning points in ONIC's history took place.
In 2022, Kairi left ONIC PH and moved to Indonesian ONIC. Yeb also joined the coaching staff alongside him. The transfer became historic: Kairi became the first Filipino import in MPL Indonesia.
At first glance, it was simply the transfer of a young jungler. In reality, it became a symbol of how closely the two biggest MLBB scenes in Southeast Asia were beginning to intertwine.
The Filipino player joined the Indonesian team and helped ONIC build a new era. Alongside Sanz, Kiboy, CW, and Butsss, he formed a roster that would eventually become one of the strongest in the organization's history.
MPL Indonesia Season 8 marked the beginning of another major era.
In 2021, ONIC won the Indonesian championship by defeating RRQ Hoshi 4:3 in the final. The championship roster consisted of Butsss, Sanz, Drian, CW, and Kiboy. This victory brought ONIC back to the top after a long period of instability.
However, the true superteam was formed somewhat later.
After Kairi's arrival, ONIC combined the Indonesian school of play with Filipino mechanics. In MPL Indonesia Season 10, the team already had Drian, Kiboy, SamoHT, CW, Butsss, Sanz, and Kairi on its roster.
ONIC won MPL Indonesia Season 10 and then repeated the achievement in Season 11 and Season 12. As a result, the organization became Indonesian champion for three consecutive seasons.
In Season 13, the team largely kept the core of its roster. ONIC competed with Butsss, Kairi, Sanz, CW, and Kiboy, along with Alberttt as an additional player.
This was a team that fans no longer associated with just one season, but with an entire era.
Kairi was responsible for tempo and jungle control, Sanz became one of the team's main playmakers, Kiboy became a symbol of aggressive roaming, CW provided consistency in the Gold Lane, while Butsss handled an enormous amount of work in the EXP Lane.
ONIC looked like a system where every player knew exactly what their role was.
One of the biggest moments of this era came at MSC 2023.
ONIC went through the entire tournament and defeated Blacklist International 4:2 in the final. It was then that the legendary five-man lineup of CW, Butsss, Sanz, Kairi, and Kiboy firmly established itself in MLBB history.
This was more than just another international trophy. MSC 2023 showed that ONIC could win not only within Indonesia but also against the strongest representatives from other regions.
Later, the same team won MPL Indonesia Season 12, defeating Geek Fam ID 4:2 in the final.
ONIC had become the dominant force in the Indonesian scene.
And then came M5.
At the M5 World Championship, ONIC arrived as one of the main contenders for the title.
The team went on a long run and reached the grand final, where it faced AP.Bren. The final became one of the most dramatic in M Series history, with AP.Bren winning 4:3.
ONIC was left one step away from becoming world champions.
Interestingly, M5 also established another important part of ONIC's legacy: the team was no longer simply an Indonesian representative. Its lineup featured Filipino player Kairi in a key role, becoming one of the most prominent examples of how cross-regional transfers could reshape the professional scene.
ONIC lost the final, but its M5 run became the culmination of the organization's golden era in Indonesia.
After such a period, a moment of change was inevitable.
In 2024, ONIC won MPL Indonesia once again — this time Season 13, defeating EVOS 4:2 in the final. It was the organization's fourth consecutive Indonesian championship, counting its victories from Season 10 through Season 13. But then the decline began.
In MPL Indonesia Season 14, ONIC was unable to defend its title and finished the tournament in 5th–6th place. At MSC 2024, the team also failed to advance from the group stage.
For an organization that had dominated Indonesia for several years, this was a serious signal. Rosters changed, one generation of players came to an end, new players arrived, and the competition became increasingly strong.
But ONIC once again showed that its story does not end after a single difficult season.
In 2025, the organization reclaimed the MPL Indonesia championship in Season 15, defeating RRQ Hoshi 4:3. In the fall, it also won Season 16, defeating Alter Ego 4:1.
So even after its first major decline, ONIC managed to rebuild and return to the top.
While the Indonesian team was going through its own changes, ONIC's Philippine branch continued to develop as well.
After M3, ONIC PH underwent a major rebuild. Dlar, Baloyskie, Kairi, and several other key players from the old roster left the team.
For some time, ONIC PH no longer looked like the force that had reached the M3 final. In MPL PH Season 10, the team finished in 5th–6th place, while the following seasons also failed to bring major success.
But in 2024, ONIC PH was given a new life.
Before MPL PH Season 14, the organization assembled a roster that would eventually become hugely popular. It featured Kirk, K1NGKONG, Super Frince, Kelra, and Brusko. This five-man lineup became the foundation of the team that would change ONIC PH's history.
During the regular season, the team produced such convincing results that it became the first team in MPL Philippines history to secure a playoff spot ahead of schedule.
In the MPL PH Season 14 final, ONIC faced Aurora Gaming.
It was an incredible Bo7 that ended 4:3 in favor of Fnatic ONIC Philippines. The championship earned the team a spot at the M6 World Championship.
Three years after the M3 final, ONIC PH received another chance.
This time, the team was called Fnatic ONIC Philippines following its partnership with Fnatic. And M6 became the tournament where everything finally came together.
Fnatic ONIC PH went through the championship undefeated and reached the final, where it faced Team Liquid Indonesia.
The final series ended 4:1, and ONIC PH became world champions for the first time in the organization's history.
The M6 championship roster consisted of Kirk, K1NGKONG, Super Frince, Kelra, and Brusko, while SpiderMilez was an additional player. Kelra received the Finals MVP award.
For ONIC, this was a kind of culmination of a long journey.
In 2019, ONIC PH failed to advance from the M1 group stage.
In 2021, it reached the M3 final but lost 0:4.
In 2024, it reached the world championship final again — and this time, it lifted the trophy.
ONIC's history is important not only because of the number of trophies it has won.
The organization became one of the main symbols of the development of transfers between Indonesia and the Philippines. Kairi's move to ONIC Indonesia showed that top players could successfully move between the two strongest MLBB regions, while the organization itself effectively became a bridge between the two scenes.
ONIC's influence on players is equally important.
The organization has featured Udil, Drian, Sasa, Antimage, Kairi, Sanz, Kiboy, CW, Butsss, Kelra, K1NGKONG, Super Frince, Baloyskie, Wise, and many other notable players. Some of them became MPL champions, some reached M Series finals, while others later found success with different teams.
ONIC also became an example of how an esports organization can operate across multiple regions while creating its own ecosystem of talent.
Another important aspect is the popularization of MLBB itself.
Over the years, ONIC matches have attracted huge audiences. For example, ONIC PH at M3 became part of one of the most-watched moments in the organization's history, with its peak viewership at an MLBB tournament exceeding 3.19 million viewers.
This demonstrates the scale the organization has achieved far beyond the professional scene itself.
Perhaps ONIC's defining characteristic is that its history cannot be told through just one region. In Indonesia, everything began with Five Kage — the roster that went undefeated in MPL ID Season 3 and turned ONIC into one of the most recognizable teams of early MLBB.
Then came a new era with Kiboy, Sanz, CW, Butsss, and Kairi, which brought MPL Indonesia championships, the MSC 2023 title, and the M5 final.
In the Philippines, ONIC went from the MPL PH Season 4 final and an unsuccessful M1 campaign to the M3 final and eventually to the M6 world championship.
And that is why ONIC is more than just an esports organization.
It is a story about how one team could survive several generations of players, multiple periods of dominance and decline, changing styles and rosters, and still return to the fight for the highest positions time and time again.
In 2025, ONIC once again won MPL Indonesia Season 15 and Season 16, while in 2026 it reached the Games of the Future final and finished third at MSC 2026. So the story of the "Yellow Hedgehogs" is still being written.
And perhaps this best explains the ONIC phenomenon: their legacy is not built around a single golden roster, but around several generations of players who each left their own mark on the history of Mobile Legends: Bang Bang.
As a reminder, MOONTON Games released a Mobile Legends: Bang Bang test server update on September 23, 2026.
