MAKATI – The first half of MPL Philippines Season 16 ended with high drama at the Green Sun Hotel, as ONIC Philippines outlasted TNC Pro Team in a thrilling three-game series, while Team Liquid PH put on a dominant sweep over AP.Bren to cap off the weekend.
ONIC Survives TNC Scare in Three-Game Thriller
With a grueling 2-1 victory over TNC Pro Team, ONIC Philippines recovered from their earlier setback against Twisted Minds, but it wasn’t an easy one.
King Cyric “K1NGKONG” Perez won Game 1 with a flawless 6/0/2 performance, going back to his comfort hero Lancelot. As Benedict “Bennyqt” Gonzales added to the pressure from the gold lane, TNC found it difficult to breathe as ONIC took every turtle and lord.
In Game 2, the Phoenix responded. Justine “Zaida” Palma’s Yi Sun-shin was able to dominate with an 8/0/7 stat line thanks to the space and control provided by Frediemar “3Mar” Serafico’s Arlott. K1NGKONG finished with a rough 1/4/2 after ONIC’s jungle faltered, necessitating a decider.
But ONIC slammed the door shut early in Game 3. The Super Family easily won thanks to a clean Granger performance from Duane “Kelra” Pillas, who recorded seven kills and an assist in just 11 minutes. TNC lost the series because they were never able to overcome the early deficit.
With the victory, ONIC moved up to 5-2 and took second place going into Week 5, where they will play Team Liquid PH, another competitor. TNC dropped to 3-4 and is hoping to recover against Smart Omega.
Team Liquid PH Sweeps AP.Bren in Style
Team Liquid PH only needed two games, and they did it in style, whereas ONIC needed three.
Alston “Sanji” Pabico’s brilliant Zhuxin was the high point of the nearly 20-minute slugfest that was Game 1. In addition to controlling the tempo of each match, Sanji made MPL-PH history by scoring his first Savage, the 24th in league history, during the final lord fight. The Cavalry won the first game thanks to Dyrroth, played by Sanford “Sanford” Vinuya.
Riding high, TL finished Game 2 quickly, finishing in 13 minutes. Karl Gabriel “KarlTzy” Nepomuceno’s signature Lancelot was perfect; he denied AP.Bren every significant goal while taking part in all seven of his team’s kills. In spite of Arvie “Aqua” Antonio’s
Joy, AP.Bren, and Valentina and James “JamesPangks” Mendoza were unable to overcome TL’s tight rotations.
Team Liquid PH, now at 5-2, will play ONIC PH in a thrilling Week 5 opener that has the potential to change the standings. With a 2-5 record, AP.Bren must defeat Smart Omega in order to maintain their hopes of making the playoffs.
