KAZAN, RUSSIA - Games of the Future, a preseason tournament featuring a $1,000,000 prize pool has finally reached a conclusion.
The finale was a rematch of the M5 World Championship grand finals as the Philippines' AP.Bren clashed against Indonesia's Onic Esports.
While the M5 finale is a neck-to-neck, seven game slugfest, GOF is more one-sided as AP.Bren proved their prowess, as they garnered a 3-1 series win.
Was shutting down Kairi a key factor?
Bren charged on into the finale, following the same gameplan in their M5 duel, shutdown Kairi "Kairi" Rayosdelsol's control of the jungle.
This was evident in Game 1, where Kairi was left scrambling around the map, while his rival Kyle "KyleTzy" Sayson wrecked everyone apart from the early game with his Nolan.
Combine that with David Charles "Flap" Canon's ability to force Onic in unwanted fights, and the Bees secured their victory.
And the momentum that KyleTzy acquired in that game translated well in the 2nd game as his Akai limited Onic's aggression. With him shutting down key threats, Marco "Super Marco" Requitiano was on a ravage, en route to garnering the MVP-of-the-Game award.
It may seem like Bren could've carried on in Game 3 with their sustain lineup featuring Rowgien "Owgwen" Unigo's Angela and Angelo Kyle "Pheww" Arcangel's Faramis, however the damage output from Gilang "SANZ" Lylia, Albert "Alberttt" Iskandar's Brody, combined with the timed crowd controls from Nicky "Kiboy" Pontonuwu's minotaur gave Onic a breather.
However, that didn't last long as Bren controlled the entirety of Game 4, which even saw a highlight play from Super Marco as his Beatrix melted a wandering Wanwan from Alberttt.
In the end, Bren won the championship and proved that their momentum from last year carries on. Will it translate all the way 'til M6?
Get more of the latest sports news & updates on SPIN.ph
NOTICE ON UNAUTHORIZED AND UNLAWFUL USE, PUBLICATION, AND/OR DISSEMINATION OF SPIN.PH CONTENT: Please be notified that any unauthorized and unlawful use, publication, and/or dissemination of Spin.ph’s content and/or materials is a direct violation of its legal and exclusive rights to the same, and shall be subject to appropriate legal action/s.
