Team Liquid sweeps ONIC, Aurora frustrates TNC as MPL PH S16 playoffs heat up
Photo from MPL Philippines / Richard Esguerra
Team Liquid sweeps ONIC, Aurora frustrates TNC as MPL PH S16 playoffs heat up
PASAY — Team Liquid PH and Aurora Gaming showed why they remain the teams to beat as the MPL Philippines Season 16 playoffs continued inside the Cuneta Astrodome on Thursday.
The defending champions, Team Liquid PH, cruised past ONIC Philippines in a swift 3–0 sweep, while Aurora Gaming held off a gritty TNC Pro Team in a hard-fought 3–2 series win to advance to the upper bracket finals.
Liquid marches past ONIC
The Cavalry set the tone early with a 14-minute Game 1 victory behind Karl Gabriel “KarlTzy” Nepomuceno’s Yi Sun-shin, who finished with seven kills and three assists.
Game 2 ended even quicker as Sanford “Sanford” Vinuya’s Yu Zhong dominated the frontline with a 1/1/6 KDA, while Alston “Sanji” Pabico’s Nuwa dished out three kills and seven assists to give Liquid a commanding 2–0 lead.
ONIC tried to push back in Game 3 with Frince “SuperFrince” Ramirez putting up a 2/1/3 performance on Zhuxin, but KarlTzy’s signature Lancelot proved too much to handle, leading the Cavalry with a 5/1/5 KDA to seal the sweep.
ONIC struggled to find any objectives throughout the series, only securing one Turtle while failing to claim a single Lord in all three games.
Aurora edges TNC in five-game thriller
Aurora opened their campaign with a confident 15-minute win in Game 1. Dylan “Light” Catipon’s Grock earned MVP honors with a 0/2/7 KDA, while Edward Jay “Edward” Dapadap’s Uranus anchored the frontline with 3/0/7.
TNC answered in Game 2 behind Justine “Zaida” Palma’s Lancelot, who notched MVP honors with a clean 3/0/4. Benedict “Bennyqt” Gonzales supported with a solid 2/0/2 on Chou to level the series.
Jan Dominic “Domengkite” del Mundo carried Aurora back ahead in Game 3 with a fiery 11/2/1 Granger performance, but TNC refused to fold as Joshua “Ch4knu” Mangilog’s Khaleed (3/3/9) led the equalizer in Game 4.
In the decider, Aurora’s late-game composure prevailed as Kenneth “Yue” Tadeo’s Cecilion controlled the pace with three kills and eight assists in a 16-minute closeout, securing their spot in the upper bracket finals.
TLPH, RORA to engage in high-stakes match
Team Liquid PH and Aurora Gaming will face off on Friday to determine the first grand finalist and the initial Filipino representative to the upcoming M7 World Championship.
Meanwhile, ONIC Philippines and TNC Pro Team will clash in the lower bracket semifinals, with the loser bowing out of playoff contention in fourth place.
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