RIVALRY.GG PUBLISHED a post which hinted on Minana EVOS' odds of winning against the dominant ECHO PH squad.
The odds were priced at 5.96 for Minana compared to ECHO's 1.09, meaning that fans who placed bets on Minana will garner a higher return in case they win.
And to the surprise of many, it was Minana who prevailed over ECHO PH in convincing fashion, 2-0.
Some fans were upset with the results as they took to social media to vent their frustrations, criticizing ECHO for throwing the game in order to capitalize on Minana's high odds while jeopardizing Omega's chances of reaching the playoffs.
They even pointed out that ECHO has already secured their playoff slot, suggesting that their remaining games were irrelevant.
Karl "KarlTzy" Nepomuceno responded to those suggestions saying, "Talo is talo hahahaha walang throw dun lala"
But he wasn't the only one who shared his sentiments on the outcome as Minana founder Julius "Banoobs" Mariano expressed his feelings in an exclusive with SPIN.ph.
Did ECHO really throw the game?
"When I saw it, I felt sad sa community because it is like discrediting our efforts and preparations against ECHO. We worked hard to formulate a strategy to counter ECHO, from reviewing all their matches and individual play styles," started Banoobs.
While he was disappointed with the overall backlash, Banoobs tried to understand the community.
"Pero di ko naman masisisi din yung community kasi may gambling involved talaga. Kapag may mga ganyang tayaan tapos natalo, iiyak talaga iyan, matik," he reflected. "Kaso sana matanggap ng community na ang labanan sa MPL, grabe ang preparations. Hindi talaga mape-predict sino mananalo nang basta-basta."
And how did the players from Minana respond to this? Here's what Banoobs hinted.
"Yung reaction ng team, tinatawanan na lang din nila, kasi yung mga umiiyak diyan, sila yung mga nagsugal ng pera nila kasi akala nila sure win na sila. Probably iyon yung mga hindi talaga nakakaintindi ng laruan sa professional scene, na grabe mag-prepare ang mga teams."
He further explained: "Kasi kada pakita mo ng strategy, magre-react ang next mong makakalaban. So dapat palaging may bago kang ipapakita para maka-take advantage ka sa kalaban. Kapag nabasa na kasi yung play style mo, madali nang ma-counter iyon, lalo pa ngayon, 2 to 4 coaches per team kasama pa yung mga players na hindi naglalaro para mag-analyze ng matches."
In the end he wanted the community to reflect on the popular phrase in MLBB history, while also expressing how his team defied the odds.
"Hindi naman tayo tatawaging 'Pinas Lang Malakas' kung hindi malalakas lahat ng team sa MPL-PH. Makapasok man kami o hindi sa playoffs, proud ako sa nagawa ng team, wala kaming superstar sa lineup, mostly are amateurs pero sana eventually maka-inspire din kami ng mga amateur teams or players na nagnanais makapasok sa MPL."
Other factors
While many suggested that ECHO PH had no bearing in this match, there were other notable factors that should be highlighted.
Currently, Minana EVOS is on a roll as they recently made their resurgence, which pushed them to playoff contention. As of now, The Tigers accumulated 16 points, behind Onic PH's 18 points and Omega Esports' 17 points.
Ever since the patch update, Minana has been racking up key victories against the likes of Omega, RSG PH, and most notably the defending MPL and world champs, ECHO PH.
So why has Minana gained some steam as the regular season reaches its end? According to Onic PH's coaching staff, the meta seems to favor Minana.
Onic PH analyst Coach Hans "Wurahhhh" Solano was asked on who will pose a threat to them, Omega Esports or Minana EVOS as these two teams could spoil their playoff hopes.
According to Solano: "Feeling ko same lang yung magiging challenge, pero sa akin sa ngayon feeling ko yung Minana kase yung meta nasa kanila, doon kami medyo macha-challenge."
Coach Mark "Bluffzy" Reyes added by discussing about Spider-Milez' hero pool which was heavily buffed in the current patch.
"Hero talaga ni Spider-Milez yun ever since. Nag-transition kasi siya from pos 4 to pos 5 na top utilities, kaya na-maximize nila yung update."
Given these factors, it seems Minana could make a surprise playoff appearance in Season 12. Both Minana and Onic will clash for playoff destiny.
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