Liquid PH claims top seed as ONIC, AP.Bren clinch hard-fought wins
Photo from MPL Philippines / Richard Esguerra
Liquid PH claims top seed as ONIC, AP.Bren clinch hard-fought wins
MAKATI – “A lesson without pain is meaningless. That’s because you can’t gain something without sacrificing something else.”
The words of pain and perseverance echoed loud on Saturday as MPL Philippines Season 15 entered its shōnen arc, with teams putting everything on the line in a thrilling penultimate day of the regular season.
Team Liquid PH secured the top spot with a crucial win over newfound rivals Aurora Gaming, while ONIC Philippines and AP.Bren emerged victorious from grueling three-game series against Smart Omega and Team Falcons PH, respectively.
Cavalry stole top spot from Aurora
Team Liquid PH set themselves as the best team in the league with a 2-0 sweep over fellow contenders Aurora Gaming in two games.
It was vindication of sorts for the Cavalry, who fell against the Northern Lights in their last meetup with a close 1-2 defeat.
The tandem of Karl Gabriel “KarlTzy” Nepomuceno and Kiel Calvin “Oheb” Soriano led TLPH in their charge to the top of the league, each getting an MVP performance.
Oheb put up an impressive performance with the revamped Kimmy pick, who tallied 10 kills and seven assists while only dying twice.
In the 26-minute game that could have gone either way, Oheb and Alston “Sanji” Pabico’s Valentina narrowly avoided Jan Dominic “Domengkite” del Mundo’s Moskov’s Spear of Destruction alongside three more Aurora players to defend their base and extend the fight.
A crucial kill to Renejay “Renejay” Barcarse’s Khaleed had Aurora crumbling in the last lord fight as Liquid decided to go for the base instead, leaving Kenneth “Yue” Tadeo to defend alone to no avail.
The second game became an easier one for TLPH as they snowballed early to earn a wire-to-wire win. KarlTzy’s Lukas logged eight kills and assisted 10 more as the team claimed all major objectives, while keeping Jonard Cedrix “Demonkite” Caranto on the watch with his Suyou getting only a 3/4/2 performance.
Aurora will now have to win a crucial matchup against Team Falcons PH to grab the remaining upper bracket spot.
ONIC PH became alpha to Barangay Omega
Defending champs ONIC Philippines had a hard time against already-eliminated Smart Omega, with the latter grabbing first blood with a 15-5 dominant win.
Jomari “JOWM” Pingol’s Bruno pick became golden for the Barangay as he took six kills in 13 minutes, while the team denied ONIC of any neutral objectives.
Jayson “UK1R” Alupit’s Selena also stood out with four kills and six assists, including a crucial one-two with JOWM against Borris “Brusko” Parro’s Kalea which marked the end of Game 1.
However, Brusko bounced back with a 1/5/10 performance again from his Kalea as they forced Game 3 with a 15-minute win. Frince “Super Frince” Ramirez tallied four kills and five assists, while Louis “Louis” Ariola’s Arlott became a non-factor as he only dished an assist and died thrice.
It was Kirk “Kirk” Gutierrez who gave Omega a hard time in a long-fought Game 3. The EXP Laner’s Hilda put up five kills and an assist while zoning most of Omega’s cores during the 24-minute match.
Kelra’s Harith also had a great game as his Harith saved ONIC from a near fall, getting three Omega players and buying time to defend the base before his teammates respawned back to life.
ONIC can still contest for the upper bracket as they will face Twisted Minds PH, but they also need Team Falcons PH to win against Aurora to ensure their slot.
AP.Bren exited with a banger
Out but not yet done, AP.Bren delivered one final performance to seal their season as they put up a 2-1 win over Team Falcons PH.
AP.Bren, who had played Aaron “Sindel” Palomo to the playing five as their roamer, put up a decent 1/2/5 performance with the Chou in Game 1. However, it was Falcons who secured the win with a 17-minute 20-9 affair over AP.Bren.
Marco “Super Marco” Requitiano’s Kimmy had eight kills and three assists to lead the Green Falcons, while David “FlapTzy” Canon had the most assists with 16 using the Phoveus, as they denied James “JamesPangks” Mendoza of all three lords.
AP.Bren put up a better fight in Game 2 as they subbed off Sindel with Jefferdson “kkd0t” Mogol and FlapTzy with Vincent “Pandora” Unigo. It was there where JamesPangks and kkd0t used the Leomord – Hylos pairing to give a myriad of problems to Team Falcons in finishing the game.
The Bees’ prized jungler put up 10 kills and seven assists with the horse-riding hero in a 24-minute affair to force a third game.
It was a different story in Game 3 as AP.Bren gave Team Falcons a hard time in the entire 18 minutes. Jan Carl “shizou” Valdez put up his best statistical performance with a 15/0/1 game using the Granger as FLCN dropped the match 17-6.
Pandora’s Hylos had an off-night as he conceded six deaths and only assisted three while his team were unable to secure any of the three lords available.
Team Falcons PH will have one match to go against a retribution-seeking Aurora side on Sunday to close the regular season.
About Author
