Team Liquid, TNC prevail as MPL PH kicks off Season 16 playoffs

Team Liquid, TNC prevail as MPL PH kicks off Season 16 playoffs

PASAY — Third-seeded Team Liquid PH and fifth-seeded TNC Pro Team opened their MPL Philippines Season 16 playoff campaigns with victories inside the Cuneta Astrodome on Wednesday.

The Cavalry outlasted sixth-seeded Team Falcons PH in a 3–1 series, while the Phoenix Army edged out rookie squad Twisted Minds PH in a grueling 3–2 thriller.

Team Liquid PH made a statement early, demolishing Falcons in just 11 minutes with a dominant 16–1 scoreline. Kiel “Oheb” Soriano’s Ruby led the way with a spotless 3/0/9 KDA. He then followed it up with another MVP-worthy performance on Harith, dropping a 9/0/3 in Game 2 to put Liquid up 2–0.

Falcons refused to fold in Game 3, where Marco “Super Marco” Requitiano’s Bane spearheaded their stand with a 9/2/4 performance in 18 minutes. However, the comeback hopes ended shortly after as Karl Gabriel “KarlTzy” Nepomuceno took charge for Liquid in Game 4. The legendary player pulled off his signature Lancelot, posting a 3/2/6 stat line to close out the series.

Meanwhile, TNC started hot with an 11-minute stomp over Twisted Minds. Joshua “Ch4knu” Mangilog’s Gatotkaca led the frontline with a solid 4/1/5 to draw first blood for the Phoenix Army.
Twisted Minds answered in Game 2 behind Michael “MP the King” Endino’s explosive 5/1/7 Lancelot in a 21-minute showdown.

The series swung back and forth from there. Benedict “Bennyqt” Gonzales’ flawless 10/0/3 Obsidia gave TNC a 2–1 lead after 19 minutes. However, an MP the King’s 14/4/8 Hayabusa performance forced a decider.

In the end, Justine “Zaida” Palma’s Fanny delivered when it mattered most. The jungler flew through the map with an 8/0/0 in 15 minutes to send TNC to the next round.

Team Liquid PH will next face second-seeded ONIC Philippines, while TNC Pro Team will challenge top-seeded Aurora Gaming on Thursday.

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Drew Malihan

Drew sucks at FPS games but loves watching PUBG and VALORANT. He found his way into esports through MLBB and HOK, and will die on the hill that Football Manager and even Excel deserve to be esports titles—despite not being good at any of them.

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