Onic Philippines

Founding and Season 4 Breakthrough

The story of ONIC Philippines begins with the squad known as Dream High Gaming. This team, featuring players like OhMyV33Nus, Wise, RR Esports, Greed, Dlar, and Zico, first competed in the MPL-PH Season 4 qualifiers in 2019. They secured their league spot by defeating Akosi Dogie's Rumble Royale. Shortly after, the Indonesian organization ONIC Esports acquired the Dream High Gaming roster, renaming it ONIC Philippines.

As a new entity in the league, ONIC PH made an immediate impact. They won against most of their opponents, with their only regular season loss coming against the team Sunsparks. This strong performance led them to finish in second place in the Regular Season, directly behind Sunsparks, establishing them as a serious team from their debut.

Chasing the Championship: Seasons 5 to -7

In Season 5 (2020), ONIC PH swapped Greed for Fuzaken, with high expectations from fans for a championship win. The regular season saw losses to Bren Esports and SunSparks, but the team fought through the playoffs. After being dropped to the Lower Bracket, they defeated Bren Esports to advance to the Grand Finals. There, SunSparks defeated them once more with a 3-1 score, handing ONIC PH a second consecutive runner-up finish.

Season 6 (2020) was a downturn. The team acquired Basic after Fuzaken departed, but it became their worst season to date. They suffered two losses to Bren Esports and were defeated by teams they had previously beaten, such as Blacklist International and Execration. Their campaign ended in a disappointing fourth place after a dramatic 3-2 reverse sweep loss to Execration.

A major shift occurred in Season 7 (2021). The duo of OhMyV33nus and Wise were traded to Blacklist International. In return, ONIC PH received the jungler Kairi. The revamped team performed well in the MPLI but lost to teams like Work Auster Force. In the regular season, they later defeated opponents like Aura, Execration, and Bren. However, their playoff run was cut short by a 3-2 loss to Execration.

Return to Form and M3 World Championship

Season 8 (2021) featured another major roster makeover. Only four players from the previous six-man lineup returned, joined by former Laus Playbook players Ryota and Beemo, rookie miicoo, and veteran Greed_, who had played for Onic in season 4. This new combination succeeded, finishing second overall with a 9-5 record. They fought their way to a third finals appearance, their first in over two seasons.

In the grand finals, they faced the back-to-back champions Blacklist International, losing in a close five-game series. Despite this, their runner-up finish was significant as it earned them a slot for the M3 World Championship. They secured this by defeating Smart Omega 3-0.

At the M3 World Championship, ONIC PH was placed in a group with ONIC Esports of Indonesia, Malaysia's TODAK, and Brazil's KEYD. After a loss to ONIC Esports, they beat TODAK and KEYD to become the first seed from Group B. They then delivered dominant 3-0 sweeps against RSG Singapore and RRQ Hoshi. After defeating BloodThirstyKings, they qualified for the grand final, setting up an all-Filipino rematch against Blacklist International. ONIC PH finished as the world runner-up after a 4-0 defeat.

Roster Instability and the Fnatic Partnership

After M3, the successful roster began to fall apart. Coach Yeb and star jungler Kairi moved to the main ONIC team in Indonesia. Other members like Micophobia, Markyyy, Baloyskie, Dlarskie, and Hatred also slowly departed. Rumors circulated that ONIC Philippines might not compete in Season 10 due to a potential buyout, but the organization denied this and confirmed their participation.

On July 13, 2022, a new roster was announced, which included the popular content creator ChooxTV. However, on August 25, 2022, the team suddenly announced his release via their Facebook page, while they were in a top standing after a 2-1 win over Smart Omega.

For Season 13 (2024), the team had a complete overhaul from the rosters of Seasons 11 and 12, which had both failed to advance past the Play-In stage. They signed Kelra as an additional gold laner and K1NGKONG to replace Raizen as their starting jungler. Their regular season ended with a fourth-place finish, missing the main playoffs after a loss to AP Bren on the final matchweek, which sent them into the Play-In second round.

Just before the Season 13 playoffs began on May 20, 2024, ONIC Philippines announced a partnership with the British esports organization Fnatic. The team name changed to FNATIC ONIC Philippines (FNATIC ONIC PH) for this new chapter.

Domestic Dominance and World Title Victory

The Fnatic partnership proved highly successful in Season 14 (2024). With the addition of former Minana EVOS player Kirk and former RRQ Hoshi player Brusko, Fnatic ONIC Philippines secured the first seed in the regular season. They broke the long-standing undefeated record streak previously set by Blacklist International in Season 7, winning thirteen straight games without a loss. Their only regular season defeat came in their final match.

In the playoffs, they returned to the world stage by defeating Falcons AP Bren 3-1 in the upper bracket finals. The grand finals against Aurora Gaming was a historic back-and-forth series. After a potential comeback from Aurora, Fnatic ONIC PH staged a perfect comeback of their own to win 4-3, securing their first-ever franchise MPL Philippines championship title.

This domestic victory earned them a spot at the M6 World Championship, marking their return to the world stage since Season 8. They recorded a dominant 3-0 record in the Swiss Stage, becoming the only Filipino team to qualify for the playoffs since the M2 tournament. They swept through the Upper Bracket and faced Team Liquid ID in the grand finals, a team they had defeated twice before. Fnatic ONIC Philippines won the series to claim the M6 World Championship title.

Legacy and Current Standing

ONIC Philippines has built a legacy of resilience and evolution. From their origins as Dream High Gaming, they quickly became perennial contenders, finishing as runners-up in Seasons 4, 5, and 8, and as world runners-up at M3. They endured periods of roster instability and rebuilding, culminating in the highly successful Fnatic partnership.

That partnership led to their most successful year, winning both the MPL PH Season 14 championship and the M6 World Championship in 2024. Following these achievements, the parent organization officially parted ways with Fnatic on January 4, 2025, reverting to the ONIC Philippines name. The team's journey from a promising newcomer to a domestic and world champion confirms it as a pillar of Philippine Mobile Legends esports.