MPL-PH: ONIC PH surges to the top by Week 4’s end

ONIC Philippines can finally say, their time is now.

This is after the black-and-yellow hedgehogs managed to steal a clean sweep against M4 World Champions ECHO in the third day of MPL PH Season 13 week 4.

 

How the Sonics were able to finish the story against the Orcas was a revelation that they might just be the true darkhorse team of the season, as they first won their match through a 23-minute first round. 

In the final minute of the first game, Frince “Super Frince” Ramirez got a huge double kill to back up Grant Duane “Kelra” Pillas and score a huge 4-man wipe against ECHO to take the dub.

By the second game, the Sonics were able to lock in their submission move to end the match quicker and in dominant fashion, with Kelra’s Roger pick leading the way for a 4-1 sweep after their Lord dance against ECHO in the 13th minute. This then paved the way for a big ending through constantly taking down ECHO’s towers and avenge their first round loss.

Solid playmaking and good decision-making was the key to ONIC Philippines’ victory, according to its new assistant coach Patrick “E2max” Caidic.

“What our advantage was in the game was the team’s playmaking,” Coach E2max told reporters in the post-match media scrum. “Escalera’s shotcalls were great and it get followed up on by his teammates. They were strong – they plays they did, and making sure they were able to do what they’ve been thinking in the game.”

 

 

 

Meanwhile, AP.Bren continued to assert their dominance against Blacklist International as the Bees once again defeated the codebreakers, 2-0, in their second round meeting.

This is Blacklist International’s 4th straight loss and puts them in their weakest performance yet in recent history, with the team now at 6th place – their lowest rank since Season 10.

World champion jungler and roamer Michael “KyleTzy” Sayson and Rowgien “Owgwen” Unigo tag-teamed to get a 9-0 spotless win against the M3 World Chmapions in Game 1.

By game 2, the Hive was in complete control, thanks to Angelo “Pheww” Arcangel’s Faramis pick leading the gauntlet with 2 kills and assists apiece, while Super Marco’s signature Brody was able to out-farm the competition with his gold laning.

When asked about why Blacklist seemed to have lost its luster, AP Bren head coach Francis “Ducky” Glindro told reporters, “Lack of aggression is one. Number two, I think we’ve experienced this before as well because if you’ve been losing for a long time, you tend to lose confidence in what you’re doing. I think they just need to regain their footing so that they can, you know, put on a show again.”

 

 

 

Finally, Minana EVOS was able to reassert its dominance against TNC Pro Team in another 2-0 series.

Minana EVOS, currently 5th in the standings, laid the smackdown on the Phoenix Army – riding high from their momentum after defeating ECHO the day prior.

Despite the early hot start of TNC’s Jaylord “Hatred” Gonzales and Christian “Heads” Morada, Minana’s Ken “Kzen” Pile was able to steal a lord from the Phoenix Army that eventually led them to win the first game.

Out of the 14 kills Minana had in that first game, 13 of them were because of kill participations from Minana’s star player Brian “SpiderMilez” Sanchez.

But by the second game, Minana literally put TNC to sleep by dealing 13 kills in 15 minutes, while the Phoenix Army’s walls broke down as they were not able to secure any key objectives during the entire match.

When asked as to how the White Tigers were able to show winning form against TNC Pro Team, Assistant Coach Douglas “Imbadeejay” Astibe II simply said, “we simply played our own game. We just used our playstyles and heroes.”

MPL Philippines Season 13 action resumes Friday, April 19th.