KUALA LUMPUR: Time is not on Team Vamos' side as they prepare for the Swiss Stage of the Mobile Legends: Bang Bang (MLBB) M6 World Championships later this month.
The newly formed team, consisting of former Homebois players, reached the M6 World Championship on their first try, and will face Saudi Arabia's Twisted Minds in the Swiss Stage starting Nov 28.
After losing to Selangor Red Giants in the MLBB Professional League Malaysia's (MPLMY) playoff Grand Final two weeks ago, Vamos proceeded to the ESL Pro Series without taking a break to get match practice for M6.
Vamos' head of eSports, Tuan Azrin Izzuddin "Avaa" Tuan Abu Bakar, said that the schedule between the MPLMY playoff grand finals and M6 is so tight that they had to deny the requests of their import players to return to their countries.
"We have four import players, two from the Philippines and two from Indonesia.
"After the MPLMY Grand Finals, we jumped straight into the ESL Pro Series, so we could not let our imports return home as it would take a lot of time away from M6 preparations.
"But I have talked to the Vamos management, maybe we will go somewhere for a short retreat before the M6," he said.
In the Swiss format, teams will play five matches, the goal is to collect three wins before accruing three losses. Teams with similar records will face each other in the next rounds. However, their opponents will be determined by a random draw.
Teams with three defeats will have to pack their bags and head home.
"We have been exposed to this Swiss format in the pro series, so we are familiar.
"However, we still have to be careful as after the first round, we can still meet powerhouse teams," Azrin added.
A blockbuster match-up to look out for in the first round is Philippine giants Fnatic ONIC and Team Liquid ID.
Commenting on their first-round opponents, Azrin said Twisted Minds are familiar foes, especially after battling them in the Mid-Season Cup in Riyadh in July - while still under the Homebois banner - and besting the Saudis.
"We must be careful against Twisted Minds as they know how we play and vice versa," Azrin said.