TWO sibling teams went head-to-head in Day 1 of the 2021 One Esports MPL: Invitational. Aura Fire from Indonesia were determined to scorch their way to the Grand Finals while ECHO PH are hoping to redeem themselves after a mediocre outing in the 8th Season of the MPL-PH.
And in the end, it was ECHO PH who proved to be the alpha team as they survived the gruelling 3-Game grindfest. In all three matches, both teams went back-and-forth, relying on late game heroics to secure victory.
"The Intersection" Rafflesia saves the day
There's a reason why Christian "Rafflesia" Fajura was nicknamed as The Intersection as he did his best to disrupt the opposition, evident in all three games, though the obra-maestra came in Game 2.
Aura drafted a heavy sustain and crowd control lineup that weakened ECHO in every teamfight and in order to deal with this tactic, Rafflesia made crucial pickoffs with his signature Chou.
In fact, he tried his best to aim for the likes of Usep "FACEHUGGER" Satiawan, even if his Pharsa was a squishy hero, in order to give his team the numbers advantage in teamfights.
This likewise created space for Frederic Benedict "Bennyqt" Gonzales and Rion "Rk3" Kudo to engage.
While Fajura's Mathilda in Game 3 lacked the explosiveness compared to his Chou, it managed to provide the necessary intel to determine the positioning of Aura's Lethal Tigreal and Ruby combo.
Hadess, the God of Lord steals
Besides Rafflesia's clutch heroics, Jaymark Aaron "Hadess" Lazaro proved to be the difference maker in Lord fights as he managed to secure the King of Jungle creeps, all thanks to his systematic use of his retribution ability.
The 21st minute in Game 2 was led to ECHO's victory and he once again repeated at the 25th minute of Game 3.
And he secured the most important objectives in the dying minutes of the match when the nerves of the players are at the highest peak.
A patient and calculated counterattacking setup
ECHO's two victories proved that the team is capable of bouncing back in the late game. It seemed they could've been swept in Game 2 as they were shellshocked from their tanky lineup as well as their Esmeralda and Yu Zhong combo.
In Game 3, they suffered from Aura's Tigreal play, which complimented Phoveus.
But instead of frantically raising the white flag, ECHO assessed the situation and looked for opportunities to bounce back. The dynamic duo of Bennyqt and Hadess led the charge and secured key items in the late game.
Combined with the zoning out capabilities of their teammates, these two took over the spotlight and secured important kills and objectives.
Rafflesia acknowledges the support of the Filipinos
During the post-match interview, Fajura mentioned that he was deadset on facing, Blacklist International and he expressed his gratitude for the support coming from his fellow countrymen.
"Sa lahat ng nanonood thank you sa pagsuporta sa lahat ng Pinoy," he said.
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