THE MUCH-AWAITED matchup between the "Baby Alien" Albert “Alberttt” Iskandar and the Filipino prodigy Karl “KarlTzy” Nepomuceno finally happened in the second day of the M4 World Championship.
Two legends from their respective scenes were also given the chance to prove their worth, with Muhammad “Lemon” Ikhsan and Jaypee “Jaypee” Cruz also going head-to-head. The latter was chosen over Tristan “Yawi” Cabrera, who was one of the most explosive players in MPL PH Season 10.
Big names from ECHO PH ultimately prevailed, slaying the RRQ Kingdom.
How ECHO bested RRQ in SEA power struggle
Earlier in the match, ECHO PH went all out on the toplane, giving space for Frederic Benedict “Bennyqt” Gonzales to farm. The assistance from Jaypee was important for Bennyqt to acquire key items in skirmishes.
With a heated toplane, RRQ was forced to adjust, forcing Calvin “VYN” and Lemon to assist Schevenko "Skylar" Tendean.
But the Orcas were still one step ahead. ECHO PH turned the pressure up on the other lanes, especially Rivaldi “R7” Fatah’s area.
This limited RRQ in most teamfights, and ECHO could afford to patiently wait and dissect their foes with KarlTzy’s setups. The ECHO PH jungler would utilize the tankiness of his Fredrinn and serve as a sacrificial lamb, forcing Alberttt to pop his Heavy Spin.
As RRQ was left stalled, Bennyqt would slowly charge towards the battlefield, his high damage outburst nerfing the Indonesian squad.
However, not everything was smooth sailing for the Pinoy team as RRQ still had a trump card left. R7, who was hampered early on, managed to slowly gain momentum with his Benedetta at the latter stages of the game.
He would try to backstab ECHO PH, but his heroics proved futile as a single crowd control on him was enough to nip his wings.
Legend Jaypee delivered the finishing blow, with his final setup sealing ECHO's victory over their Indonesian rivals.