Yue’s savage powers Aurora past AP.Bren; Ryota returns as ONIC sweeps Omega

Yue’s savage powers Aurora past AP.Bren; Ryota returns as ONIC sweeps Omega

MAKATI – MPL Philippines delivered fireworks on Friday at the Green Sun Hotel as the league saw its first savage of Season 16.

Fans also witnessed the return of a familiar face to action as the season hit its mid-point.

Five stars for RORA

Aurora Gaming bagged their fifth straight win with a commanding 2-0 sweep over AP.Bren, giving the Hive little room to respond in either game. The Northern Lights dominated from start to finish, controlling every objective and turning teamfights decisively in their favor.

Game 1 ended in under 11 minutes as Jonard Cedrix “Demonkite” Caranto’s Yi Sun-shin piled up a 5/0/6 stat line while securing all major objectives.

The spotlight, however, belonged to Kenneth “Yue” Tadeo, who recorded his first career savage—and the first of Season 16—on Kimmy during the closing clash. Yue strung together five straight kills, the last one against James “Jamespangks” Mendoza’s Joy, before going down.

Yue’s feat became only the 23rd savage in MPL PH history and the first with Kimmy since Execration’s Jomie “P4kbet” Abalos in Season 3.

Aurora sealed the series in Game 2 with a 17-minute win, powered by Yue’s flawless Selena and Dylan “Light” Catipon’s disruptive Gatotkaca initiations. AP.Bren struggled across the map, with Jhon Marl “Lord JM” Sebastian conceding five deaths on Ruby while Edward Jay “Edward” Dapadap’s Cici failed to make an impact in the EXP lane.

Aurora now prepares for a showdown with Smart Omega on Saturday, September 13, while AP.Bren seeks redemption against Team Liquid PH the next day.

ONIC become “alpha” to Omega

ONIC Philippines bounced back from their shock loss to Twisted Minds with an emphatic 2-0 sweep of Smart Omega. It was also a special night for ONIC, who inserted Nowee “Ryota” Macasa to their main five as the Super Family reasserted their dominance.

The series opened with a 15-minute victory led by King Cyric “K1NGKONG” Perez’s trademark Lancelot, who tallied a 5/1/6 performance and repeatedly turned near-death duels into ONIC’s favor. Omega failed to secure a single lord or turtle and only managed one turret, as ONIC dictated the pace across all lanes.

Despite coach Lemuel “Lembot” Lucban drafting a surprise gold lane Helcurt for Kenneth “Netskie” Barro, the experiment fell flat as ONIC’s laners established control early.

Game 2 was even quicker, ending in under 12 minutes with Borris “Brusko” Parro’s Grock creating space for Frince “Super Frince” Ramirez’s Zhuxin to shine. It was a quiet outing for Omega’s side lanes, as Netskie and James “Jeymz” Gloria combined for no kills and only four assists.

Salic “Hadji” Imam’s Vexana also struggled against Super Frince’s Zhuxin, leaving Omega with back-to-back sweeps to digest.

ONIC will close the first half of their campaign against TNC Pro Team on Sunday, while Omega brace for another uphill test against Aurora.

About Author

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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