Smart Omega Empress Joins the NAVI: Brilliant Women’s MLBB Shake-Up

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Why this move matters far beyond one roster

The clearest proof in 2025: Natus Vincere (NAVI)—one of esports’ most storied brands—formally entered the Philippines’ women’s scene by acquiring Smart Omega Empress, a title-winning lineup with national pride and global upside. The team now competes as NAVI PH. The headline tells you what happened; the real story is why it changes the calculus for players, teams, brands, and fans alike. Women’s Mobile Legends: Bang Bang (MLBB) has gone from “nice to have” to a core growth engine in Southeast Asia. Grassroots leagues matured, organizations invested, and publishers carved out premium stages for women’s events.

NAVI didn’t stop at the Philippines. On the same day, the org announced a second women’s roster in Malaysia, built around Arcane Ladies. That two-team strategy gives NAVI simultaneous coverage in two of MLBB’s most passionate markets and a built-in scrim ecosystem that accelerates development on both sides. The timing wasn’t random either—it landed just as the season’s tentpoles were coming into focus, from the Athena League cycle in the Philippines to the MLBB Women’s Invitational (MWI) at the Esports World Cup.

What exactly happened? The deal, the rosters, and the immediate context

  • The acquisition: NAVI bought out the Smart Omega Empress roster and rebranded the team to NAVI PH. NAVI’s announcement framed the move as part of a broader commitment to women’s MLBB ahead of the Esports World Cup slate.
  • The second prong: NAVI also unveiled NAVI MY, picking up Malaysia’s Arcane Ladies to establish a parallel roster. Two teams; two talent pools; one synchronized program.
  • The competitive stage: In the Philippines, the Athena League served as the official qualifier for MWI 2025. NAVI PH entered the cycle at full speed and, in a statement result for a newly branded roster, won Athena League and secured a spot at MWI 2025.

This is the kind of aggressive, well-timed expansion you expect from a legacy brand sensing a larger inflection point. NAVI’s message was simple: women’s MLBB is a pillar, not a pilot.

A quick refresher: who are Smart Omega Empress and NAVI?

Smart Omega Empress (now NATUS VINCERE PH)

The Empress core built its reputation on discipline and composure, developing a following for precise macro, clean lane control, and patient team-fight setups. The lineup’s 2024 championship at the MLBB Women’s Invitational put international respect behind local hype and made them the obvious No. 1 target for a global org looking to plant a Philippine flag. That pedigree—and the squad’s strong Cebuana identity—created a story that resonated well beyond esports die-hards.

From FPS dynasties to modern multiplatform pushes, NAVI’s brand stands for process, structure, and scale. In MLBB, the org has moved deliberately: clarify the calendar, secure talent that can win immediately, and build systems that last. Creating NAVI PH and NAVI MY in tandem was a bet on regional density—more intra-org scrims, more content, more sponsor touchpoints, and better scouting across Southeast Asia.

Timeline: how the pieces snapped into place

  • 2024: Smart Omega Empress claim the MWI 2024 title, elevating their international visibility.
  • March–May 2025: Athena League runs as the Philippine qualifier to MWI; Empress/NAVI PH figure heavily in the playoff picture.
  • May 14–20, 2025: NAVI publicly announces two women’s rosters—NAVI PH (ex-Empress) and NAVI MY (ex-Arcane Ladies). Local and regional outlets amplify the news.
  • May 25, 2025: NAVI PH win Athena League, locking their invitation to MWI 2025 at the Esports World Cup.
  • July 15–19, 2025: MWI 2025 takes place at Boulevard Riyadh City (SNB Esports Arena) with 16 teams and a $500,000 prize pool—the women’s MLBB centerpiece within the Esports World Cup program.

About MWI 2025: bigger stage, bigger stakes

In 2025, MWI returned as a marquee women’s event, hosted inside the Esports World Cup festival in Riyadh. The event ran July 15–19, featured 16 teams, and offered $500,000 in prizes—an unmistakable signal that publishers and organizers view women’s MLBB as a top-tier property, not an exhibition. The scale, venue, and broadcast footprint also served brand marketers: a clean, family-friendly showcase with strong SEA storylines.

Why NATUS VINCERE targeted this roster—and why the Philippines

  1. Proven winners: The ex-Empress core didn’t just flash potential; they won the biggest women’s MLBB event of 2024 and kept pace domestically. For a global org under time pressure to compete at tentpoles, that’s exactly the risk profile you want: champion DNA with room to grow.
  2. Market gravity: The Philippines is a premier MLBB market with deep player pools, massive social engagement, and culturally mainstream esports coverage. A Philippine women’s roster is high-leverage for both performance and community building.
  3. Regional synergy: Pairing PH and MY gives NAVI a SEA-centric hub for talent evaluation, co-marketing, and scrim scheduling, reducing travel burden while doubling content velocity.
  4. Calendar fit: The acquisition aligned cleanly with the Athena League knockout window and the MWI/EWC schedule, maximizing early ROI in both competitive and media terms.

What changes on the server: playstyle, identity, and development

While metas and patches ebb and flow, the ex-Empress identity translates well to big brackets:

  • Lane management first: Efficient last-hitting and wave control create predictable objective windows and deny coin-flip fights.
  • Front-to-back discipline: Team fights favor percentage plays over chaos; you feel the pre-planned layering of cooldowns and ultimates.
  • Flexible drafts: Because comfort pools are broad, the draft rarely paints them into a corner; they can pivot to utility or brute force as needed.
  • Mental composure: The squad has been here before. In elimination moments, they default to structure, not ego.

For NAVI, the development mandate is straightforward: protect the identity, add depth. That means better data workflows (review tools, opponent prep), access to performance staff (sports psychology, nutrition), and bootcamps that stack reps against international styles. With two rosters in-house (PH and MY), NAVI can simulate meta-specific looks without leaking scrim notes to rivals.

The two-team advantage: why NAVI PH + NAVI MY is a force multiplier

  • More scrims, smarter scrims: Instead of chasing practice partners across time zones, NAVI can run intra-org blocks, exchange analysts, and test draft hypotheses internally before revealing them on stage.
  • Content and culture: Two squads produce double the storylines—regional pride, friendly rivalry, combined bootcamps—fueling social reach and sponsor deliverables.
  • Risk diversification: If injuries, visas, or patch hits disrupt one roster, the other can steady the brand’s presence in key events.

What it means for the Philippines’ women’s MLBB ecosystem

1) Raising standards (and expectations)

NAVI’s entry typically comes with process discipline: tighter scrim frameworks, better VOD review, performance analytics, and predictable calendars around tentpoles like Athena League and MWI. The ripple effect? Rivals invest to keep pace. That competitive arms race lifts the quality ceiling for the entire circuit.

2) Sponsor magnetism and new categories

Global orgs open doors for non-endemic sponsors—finance, FMCG, telco, fashion—by offering brand safety, global creative toolkits, and measurable content. Expect more layered deals (naming rights, player-led content series, campus activations) that benefit not just NAVI but tournament operators and grassroots programs.

3) Youth and collegiate pathways

With NAVI PH in the headlines, schools and youth programs gain a clearer runway to pitch women-in-esports clinics, mentorships, and trials. Pathways matter: when a 15-year-old can visualize the step-by-step ladder (camp → academy → tier 2 → NAVI trial), participation spikes—and retention improves.

4) Media coverage that sticks

From mainstream broadsheets to esports trades, coverage multiplies when a global brand plants roots. The result is more consistent storytelling—not just event recaps, but player features and behind-the-scenes pieces that keep public interest warm between tournaments.

Business takeaways for brands (even if you’re not sponsoring NATUS VINCERE)

  • Community > reach: Women’s MLBB audiences tend to be highly engaged and values-driven. Frame campaigns around empowerment, education, and access rather than pure hype, and you’ll see better sentiment and stickier lift.
  • Own a content lane: Consider sponsoring coach’s corner, mic’d-up scrims, or patch explainer shorts—evergreen, scalable, and safe.
  • Balance IRL and URL: Watch parties, collegiate showmatches, and co-ed clinics create trusted IRL touchpoints that anchor your digital campaigns around tentpole events like MWI.

A practical content plan for teams inspired by the NAVI blueprint

If you manage a women’s MLBB lineup, here’s a 6-point plan you can adopt tomorrow:

  1. Define your competitive identity (e.g., “late-game mages,” “objective-first macro”). Build recurring content around that identity so new fans know who you are in one scroll.
  2. Time your drops to the calendar: Two weeks before qualifiers, release a “get to know the roster” arc; during tournament week, push short-form highlights and live updates; after elimination or trophy, drop a debrief (what worked, what’s next).
  3. Mic the moments: Coach huddles, draft room, walk-outs—capture 60–90-second clips designed for Reels/TikTok/Shorts.
  4. Educational hooks: Patch breakdowns and role clinics (e.g., “how we play Roam in 1-3-1”) are catnip for both aspirants and casuals.
  5. Partner with women creators: Co-stream watch parties or produce duo VOD reviews—it diversifies voices and extends reach.
  6. Measure ruthlessly: Track watch time (not just views), click-through to streams, follower growth, and discord signups. Optimize monthly.

Competitive outlook: what to watch through the rest of 2025

  • Patch turbulence: Meta shifts can either highlight NAVI PH’s adaptability or challenge their comfort pools. Watch draft flexibility and side-select strategy.
  • Internal rivalry: NAVI PH vs. NAVI MY scrims sharpen both teams; a potential bracket collision would be a ratings gift and a development stress test.
  • Post-EWC cadence: The best programs sustain content and scrim quality after tentpoles. Follow how NAVI paces bootcamps and rest cycles to avoid burnout.

For fans: how to follow along and support the scene

  • Follow official channels for matchday schedules, roster notes, and content drops (Instagram, TikTok, X, YouTube). NAVI’s newsroom also centralizes announcements.
  • Turn on notifications on streaming platforms so you don’t miss watch-parties or surprise scrims.
  • Engage creators covering women’s MLBB—your comments and shares help expand the ecosystem.
  • Host local meetups: Cafés and campus orgs increasingly run MLBB nights around big matches; consider pitching one in your city.

The bigger picture: women’s MLBB and the Esports World Cup

The Esports World Cup funnels global attention into one festival, and in 2025 it offered an even more ambitious Club Championship overlay for organizations. That macro context means MWI 2025 wasn’t just a standalone tournament—it was a centerpiece that affected org points, sponsor storylines, and year-end positioning. For women’s MLBB, being inside that festival validates the scene’s scale and staying power.

Bottom line: a rising tide—if we keep rowing

NAVI buying Smart Omega Empress and spinning up NAVI PH (with NAVI MY in parallel) did more than change jerseys. It added infrastructure, visibility, and urgency to a scene that already had the talent. With better processes and bigger stages, the Philippines—and Southeast Asia more broadly—now has a clear path to keep women’s MLBB in the mainstream. For players, that means clearer ladders. For fans, richer storylines. For brands, cleaner, higher-impact entry points. And for rivals? A new bar to clear.

Women’s Mobile Legends: Bang Bang hit a new milestone in 2025 when Natus Vincere (NAVI) acquired Smart Omega Empress, rebranding the title-winning Filipino roster as NAVI PH. In parallel, NAVI signed Malaysia’s Arcane Ladies to form NAVI MY, creating a two-team SEA hub just in time for the Athena League qualifier and the MLBB Women’s Invitational (MWI) at the Esports World Cup. The ex-Empress core brings disciplined macro, flexible drafts, and calm late-game execution; under NAVI, they gain structure—analysts, sports science, bootcamps—and a built-in scrim partner in NAVI MY.

Philippine Swimming Stars: NCAA Champs Breaking Records

Beyond one lineup, the move raises standards across the Philippine scene. Expect tighter schedules, richer broadcasts, stronger sponsor interest, and clearer youth-to-pro pathways through clinics, academies, and collegiate ties. For brands, women’s MLBB offers highly engaged communities and family-friendly tentpoles; sponsorable content lanes include coach’s corner, mic’d-up moments, and patch explainers. For teams, the playbook is calendar-driven storytelling, short-form highlights, and ruthless measurement of watch time and click-through.

Key watchpoints: patch volatility, bandwidth across two rosters, and sustaining performance post-EWC. Bottom line: NAVI’s twin rosters add infrastructure and visibility to a talent-rich region, giving fans better storylines, players clearer ladders, and partners cleaner entry points. Follow streams and support women’s MLBB.

Strong call-to-action

Fans: Follow NATUS VINCERE PH and NAVI MY, set stream reminders for key matches, and share your favorite plays—help the algorithms surface women’s MLBB.
Brands: If you’re exploring partnerships in the Philippines or Malaysia, now is prime time. Start with content pilots (coach’s corner, watch-alongs) and scale into event activations around Athena League and MWI.
Players & schools: Pitch women-in-esports clinics, academy trials, and mentorship panels. The window is open—step through it.

Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)

1) Did NAVI really acquire the former Smart Omega Empress roster to form NAVI PH?

Yes. NATUS VINCERE’s official news post confirms it signed two women’s rosters—one from the Philippines (ex-Smart Omega Empress) and one from Malaysia (ex-Arcane Ladies). Philippine and Cebu media further reported the roster names and local context surrounding the transfer.

2) Why did NAVI launch both a Philippine and a Malaysian women’s team?

To build a SEA hub with two high-potential lineups, creating more scrim depth, regional reach, and content scale ahead of global tentpoles like MWI at the Esports World Cup. The dual-team model also diversifies competitive risk throughout the season.

3) What is MWI 2025 and why is it important?

The MLBB Women’s Invitational 2025 is the top women’s MLBB event of the year, staged July 15–19 inside the Esports World Cup festival in Riyadh, featuring 16 teams and a $500,000 prize pool. It’s both a performance pinnacle and a visibility engine for women’s MLBB.

4) How did NAVI PH qualify for MWI 2025?

By winning the Athena League, the Philippines’ official qualifier for MWI 2025. That title secured NAVI PH a direct invitation to the Riyadh main event.

5) What changes should fans expect now that NAVI is involved?

Expect more structured content, stronger broadcasts, and higher-stakes rivalries. With a global org in the mix, sponsorship interest tends to expand, media coverage becomes steadier, and player pipelines grow more formal—benefiting the entire women’s MLBB ecosystem.

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