Fnatic ONIC Philippines trounces Selangor Red Giants to boost M6 title bid
Photo from Mobile Legends Esports
Fnatic ONIC Philippines trounces Selangor Red Giants to boost M6 title bid
PUTRAJAYA, Malaysia – Reigning MPL Philippines champions Fnatic ONIC Philippines make quick work with a 2-0 thrashing of hometown bets and MPL Malaysia champions Selangor Red Giants on Saturday to start their M6 World Championship knockout stage run.
Superstar gold laner Duane “Kelra” Pillas went berserk with 17 kills and 20 assists with Bruno and the Granger, schooling counterpart John Vincent “Innocent” Banal especially in Game 2.
It was a reunion of sorts for both Innocent and Mark Genzon “KramM” Rusiana who were teammates with FNOP’s King Cyric “K1NGKONG” Perez back in Season 11 at TNC Pro Team before Kramm headed to ONIC Philippines in S12. Innocent and K1NGKONG went separate ways in Season 13 to their current teams.
Tale of two vastly different battles
It was a close Game 1 for the two sides but FNOP kept the gold lead on their side, securing all three turtles and keeping Muhammad Haqqullah “Sekys” Bin Ahmad Shahrul Zaman’s Julian on bay–even putting him four levels behind King Cyric “K1NGKONG” Perez’s Suyou.
However, Jann Kirk “Kirk” Gutierrez stepped up in the last clash, eventually stealing the lord while keeping himself deathless with 9/0/10 in the Edith to put FNOP in a tremendous advantage.
FNOP went next level in Game 2 as they decimated SRG with a 22-7 beatdown in just 12 minutes, as Super Frince’s Yve proved to be a menace with three kills and 12 assists.
Muhammad Qayyum Ariffin “YumS” Bin Mohd Suhairi became the team’s primary target as he fell five times despite getting a hard tank in Grock.
A different shade of red
Kelra pointed out in their post-match interviewthat their opponents weren’t the same SRG that they saw lift the Mid-Season Cup in Riyadh last July.
“Parang ngayon sa M6, parang hindi sila masyado magkakasama gumalaw. Parang medyo hiwalay sila sa mapa. Kasi dati nung MSC, dikit-dikit talaga sila, hindi sila naghihiwalay (Probably right now in M6, they haven’t been in sync in-game. They are somewhat going separate ways in the map. Unlike in MSC, they grouped up, they won’t split up,) the FNOP gold laner said.
SRG’s early game potential got busted?
Coach Michael Angelo “Arcadia” Bocado pointed out that their Game 2 lineup didn’t pan out as planned, as they went for an early-game power spike.
“Supposedly we should be the one leading the early game but apparently we were not able to lead the early game and then they’re the one who got the lead,” said Arcadia in the post-match press conference, attributing to their comp featuring a Suyou, Harith, and Valentina.
“It is so hard for us to come back and I think that’s the story of that game,” he added.
SRG’s lineup went to grab the first turtle uncontested but FNOP’s dash-heavy lineup featuring Granger and Joy rotated often for trades and eventually kept the gold lead from the third minute onwards.
Going against the Burmese predators
Fnatic ONIC PH will next face Myanmar’s Falcon Esports in the upper bracket semifinals tomorrow.
“This ain’t the finals just yet, so still a long way to go. We’re going to be facing a strong team in Falcons, so we’re going to have to review that. And let’s see. It’s just about us trying to be consistent,” Coach Anthony “Ynot” Senedrin shared.
SRG’s chance of a golden road hangs in the balance as they will face Singaporean champions NIP Flash on Tuesday.
About Author
