Latest news with #MKL
New Straits Times
3 days ago
- Sport
- New Straits Times
Draw could make or break Nova's World Cup run
KUALA LUMPUR: Newly crowned Malaysia Honour of Kings (HoK) Spring League (MKL) champions Nova Esports are hoping for a favourable draw at the HoK World Cup (KWC) in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, next month. Nova, together with reigning world champions Black Shrew Esports (BSE) and All Gamers Global (AG Global), have qualified for KWC by finishing in the top three during the MKL. Nova won the Season 3 Invitational in Manila, in March and have been in strong form this season. They carried that momentum into MKL, finishing second behind BSE in the regular season before going unbeaten in the playoffs. Nova edged BSE 4-3 in a thrilling Grand Final on Sunday (June 8) to clinch the title. Nova's manager, Noel Leng, said avoiding teams from China, who are the powerhouse nation in the esport, would give them a better chance of going deep at KWC. KWC is part of the Esports World Cup. "It depends on the luck of the draw in Riyadh," she said yesterday (June 8). "For us, we hope not to face Chinese teams early on. That said, we will prepare thoroughly to face any opponent at the KWC." In the MKL Grand Final, Nova trailed 3-2 after five games with BSE needing just one more win to secure the inaugural league title. However, Nova dug deep to win the sixth game, forcing a deciding Game Seven, which they went on to win, lifting the trophy and pocketing US$15,100 (RM63,948.50). Noel added that the team anticipated a tough and drawn-out encounter, especially after their earlier victory over BSE in the upper bracket semi-finals. "We beat them 3-0 in the upper bracket semis, and we knew they would analyse that loss to try and counter us," said Noel. "They also defeated AG Global 3-1 in the lower bracket final before facing us again, so they came in with strong momentum. "We knew that if we could push the series to a seventh game, we would come out on top as we've never lost a Game Seven before." Nova will now take a short break before resuming preparations for the KWC. A training boot camp in China is being planned before the team travels to the Middle East.
The Sun
3 days ago
- Entertainment
- The Sun
Nova Esports win first MY Honor of Kings League!
NOVA ESPORTS is the first MY Honor of Kings League champion! The first professional national league was hosted offline for the first time at Sunway Pyramid from 6 - 8 June, where six teams ignited the arena with fiery, neck-to-neck matches, much to the delight of the local crowd. Fiery grand finals showdown The Grand Finals saw Nova Esports clash in a best-of-seven against Black Shrew Esport, and in a surprising turn of events, both teams almost chose the same hero matchups in the Ultimate Battle. In a best-of-seven Match series, the Ultimate Battle will commence if the Match is tied 3-3 after Game 6. Players must choose the same hero and use the challenger spells submitted during Game 7 in a Normal 5v5 mode with no Bans, and coaches are placed under a tight time restriction to choose their hero lineup. In the leadup before the Ultimate Battle, the Global Ban&Pick format was applied to ensure that each hero could only be selected once per match series by each team, with a total of four bans per game. Nova Esports was the mightier squad and came prepared. NOVA. Xuan's skillful use of Dharma landed him the FVMP title, and the team emerged with the final score of 4-3. 'This is a momentous step for us as we mark history as the first local champions,' stated Nicholas 'NOVA. Xuan' Ng, 'This win is dedicated to all of our supporters who have stood steadfast by us, and we hope to make them proud once again at KWC 2025.' Nova Esports and Black Shrew Esport will turn the heat up once again at KWC 2025, along with AG Global. 7GL ignites in-game with new announcer pack Showcased at the MY Honor of Kings League (MKL) Spring 2025 Playoffs, 7GL made a special appearance and featured the first-ever Announcer Pack for HOK Malaysia, where fans can acquire system announcer voice lines that are fully adapted to 7GL, including the Double Kill, Legendary, and Victory announcements, as well as many more that will be announced during pivotal match points. The Announcer Pack features Soloz, Makdi, Ombong, Feekz, and Peak, who've tested out their polished gameplay during their journey as a guest caster at MKL. The pack also perfectly complements the previous 7GL Voice Pack, which was released back in May 2025. Check out the following details to claim your free Announcer Pack today: – Complete one match in Honor of Kings Malaysia to receive the full Announcer Pack by 7GL. – The 7GL announcer pack will be available on 9 June, and local players can redeem it until 19 June. – Compete alongside Malaysia's esports and gaming superstars, and let them guide you in your matches! Supported by the Ministry of Youth and Sports (KBS), Rakan Muda as the Official Strategic Partner, realme as the Official Gaming Phone Partner, and Sunway Pyramid as the Official Venue Partner, the MY HOK League Spring 2025 brings together passionate esports talents to awaken their potential.
The Sun
3 days ago
- Entertainment
- The Sun
Nova Esports are the champions of the first MY Honor of Kings League!
NOVA ESPORTS is the first MY Honor of Kings League champion! The first professional national league was hosted offline for the first time at Sunway Pyramid from 6 - 8 June, where six teams ignited the arena with fiery, neck-to-neck matches, much to the delight of the local crowd. Fiery grand finals showdown The Grand Finals saw Nova Esports clash in a best-of-seven against Black Shrew Esport, and in a surprising turn of events, both teams almost chose the same hero matchups in the Ultimate Battle. In a best-of-seven Match series, the Ultimate Battle will commence if the Match is tied 3-3 after Game 6. Players must choose the same hero and use the challenger spells submitted during Game 7 in a Normal 5v5 mode with no Bans, and coaches are placed under a tight time restriction to choose their hero lineup. In the leadup before the Ultimate Battle, the Global Ban&Pick format was applied to ensure that each hero could only be selected once per match series by each team, with a total of four bans per game. Nova Esports was the mightier squad and came prepared. NOVA. Xuan's skillful use of Dharma landed him the FVMP title, and the team emerged with the final score of 4-3. 'This is a momentous step for us as we mark history as the first local champions,' stated Nicholas 'NOVA. Xuan' Ng, 'This win is dedicated to all of our supporters who have stood steadfast by us, and we hope to make them proud once again at KWC 2025.' Nova Esports and Black Shrew Esport will turn the heat up once again at KWC 2025, along with AG Global. 7GL ignites in-game with new announcer pack Showcased at the MY Honor of Kings League (MKL) Spring 2025 Playoffs, 7GL made a special appearance and featured the first-ever Announcer Pack for HOK Malaysia, where fans can acquire system announcer voice lines that are fully adapted to 7GL, including the Double Kill, Legendary, and Victory announcements, as well as many more that will be announced during pivotal match points. The Announcer Pack features Soloz, Makdi, Ombong, Feekz, and Peak, who've tested out their polished gameplay during their journey as a guest caster at MKL. The pack also perfectly complements the previous 7GL Voice Pack, which was released back in May 2025. Check out the following details to claim your free Announcer Pack today: – Complete one match in Honor of Kings Malaysia to receive the full Announcer Pack by 7GL. – The 7GL announcer pack will be available on 9 June, and local players can redeem it until 19 June. – Compete alongside Malaysia's esports and gaming superstars, and let them guide you in your matches! Supported by the Ministry of Youth and Sports (KBS), Rakan Muda as the Official Strategic Partner, realme as the Official Gaming Phone Partner, and Sunway Pyramid as the Official Venue Partner, the MY HOK League Spring 2025 brings together passionate esports talents to awaken their potential.
New Straits Times
4 days ago
- Sport
- New Straits Times
The 'unwanted' silence their critics
PETALING JAYA: Once dismissed as a group of "unwanted" players, All Gamers Global (AG) have silenced their critics by securing a spot at next month's Esports World Cup in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia. AG booked their place after a convincing 3-0 victory over O2 Esports in the lower bracket semi-final of the Malaysia Honor of Kings Spring League (MKL) playoffs, held at a shopping mall here today. They will join Nova Esports and reigning world champions Black Shrew Esports (BSE) as Malaysia's representatives at the prestigious tournament. The win also sent AG through to the lower bracket final, where they will face BSE, who were outclassed 3-0 by Nova in the upper bracket final. Nova advance directly to the Grand Final and await the winners of the lower bracket final. AG team manager Calvin "ShadowIU" Lee expressed pride in his players, many of whom were previously overlooked by other teams. "We've been preparing for months for the league and playoffs," said Calvin. "There was pressure on us to qualify for Riyadh, so I'm really pleased we managed to pull it off. "This achievement is even more meaningful because our players were seen as 'unwanted'. That makes qualifying all the more satisfying." BSE, the top seeds from the regular season, look powerful. "BSE are giants of the MKL, but we'll give it our all," said Calvin. "We played Nova in the upper bracket semi-final on Friday and were quickly 0-2 down as the players were quite tense. "We regrouped, told them to enjoy the game, and came back to level at 2-2 before narrowly losing the decider."
Yahoo
5 days ago
- Business
- Yahoo
MKL Outperforms Industry, Trades at a Discount: How to Play the Stock?
Shares of Markel Group Inc. MKL have rallied 21.1% in the past year, outperforming its industry, the Finance sector and the Zacks S&P 500 composite's growth of 7.4%, 19.4% and 11.4%, respectively. Markel Group has outperformed its peers, ITT Inc. ITT and Honeywell International Inc. HON, which have risen 16.7% and 8.7%, respectively, in the past year. Meanwhile, shares of Carlisle Companies Incorporated CSL have declined 7.1% in the past year. Image Source: Zacks Investment Research The stock has a market capitalization of $24.57 billion. The average volume of shares traded in the last three months was 0.05 Group's bottom line surpassed earnings in three of the last four quarters and missed in one, the average being 11.26%. Markel Group shares are trading at a discount compared to the industry. Its price-to-book ratio of 1.48X is lower than the industry average of 6.75X, the Finance sector's 6.75X and the Zacks S&P 500 composite's 8.03X. Also, it has a Value Score of B. Image Source: Zacks Investment Research Shares of Markel Group are trading above the 50-day and 200-day simple moving averages (SMAs) of $1,847.32 and $1,742.23, indicating solid upward momentum. SMA is a widely used technical analysis tool to predict future price trends by analyzing historical price data. Its share price as of June 5, 2025 was $1,937.11, down 6.1% from its 52-week high of $2,063.68. Image Source: Zacks Investment Research The Zacks Consensus Estimate for Markel Group's 2025 earnings per share indicates a year-over-year increase of 16.9%. The consensus estimate for revenues is pegged at $15.18 billion, implying a year-over-year improvement of 2.4%. The consensus estimate for 2026 earnings per share and revenues implies an increase of 12.1% and 6.6%, respectively, from the corresponding 2025 have grown 23.1% in the past five years, better than the industry average of 16.2%. Two of the five analysts covering the stock have raised estimates for 2025, while one analyst has lowered the same for 2026 over the past 30 days. Thus, the Zacks Consensus Estimate for 2025 earnings has moved up 1.8% in the past 30 days, while the same for 2026 has moved down 0.2% in the same time frame. Image Source: Zacks Investment Research Based on short-term price targets offered by four analysts, the Zacks average price target is $1,879.00 per share. The average indicates a potential 2.6% downside from the last closing price. Image Source: Zacks Investment Research Return on equity in the trailing 12 months was 7.48%, underperforming the industry average of 36.59%. Return on equity, a profitability measure, reflects how effectively a company is utilizing its shareholders' funds. Thus, MKL's ROE is lagging the industry average. MKL has been generating improved premiums. An improvement in new business volume, strong retention levels, continued increases in rates and expanded product offerings should help the insurer retain the income should continue to benefit from an improving rate environment, higher interest income on cash equivalents, fixed maturity securities and short-term investments due to higher Group considers strategic buyouts a prudent approach to ramp up its growth profile. Acquisitions have helped the company enhance its surety capabilities, ramp up Markel Ventures' revenues and expand its reinsurance product offerings. The insurer has been pursuing acquisitions to achieve profitable growth in insurance operations and create additional value on a diversified basis in Markel Ventures' revenues at construction services and transportation-related businesses due to a combination of increased demand, higher prices and growth, as well as a rise in production at one of the equipment manufacturing businesses, are expected to boost operating revenues. The increase also reflected a full-year contribution from Metromont. Banking on a strong capital position, the company engages in share buybacks, a prudent way to distribute wealth to its shareholders. MKL has a share repurchase program, authorized by the board, that provides for the repurchase of up to $2 billion of shares. As of March 31, 2025, $1.7 billion remained available for repurchases under the program. Also, given its solid cash position of $4.2 billion, the company should not face any difficulty in meeting short-term obligations. Given the company's strong stock performance, solid retention levels, an improving rate environment, favorable growth estimates and solid capital position, current shareholders may find it wise to hold onto MKL shares. Markel Group's new business volume and prudent capital deployment present significant growth opportunities. MKL also has a VGM Score of A. Stocks with a favorable VGM Score are those with the most attractive value, best growth and most promising momentum compared with Markel Group's unfavorable return on capital and the mixed analyst sentiments surrounding the company, it is better to adopt a wait-and-see approach on this Zacks Rank #3 (Hold) stock. You can see the complete list of today's Zacks #1 Rank (Strong Buy) stocks here. Want the latest recommendations from Zacks Investment Research? Today, you can download 7 Best Stocks for the Next 30 Days. Click to get this free report Honeywell International Inc. (HON) : Free Stock Analysis Report ITT Inc. (ITT) : Free Stock Analysis Report Carlisle Companies Incorporated (CSL) : Free Stock Analysis Report Markel Group Inc. (MKL) : Free Stock Analysis Report This article originally published on Zacks Investment Research ( Zacks Investment Research Error while retrieving data Sign in to access your portfolio Error while retrieving data Error while retrieving data Error while retrieving data Error while retrieving data
