JUST LIKE in the M3 World Championship, M4 is once again an all-Filipino finals affair as ECHO PH conquered the RRQ Kingdom and ended the dreams of Indonesia's MLBB scene in a 3-1 series win.
With their win, ECHO will once again face Blacklist International in the M4 World Championship. Their previous matchup in the upper bracket finals saw Blacklist survive the Orcas' wrath with a 3-2 series win.
Orcas swim through the grand finals
If the previous series between RRQ Hoshi and Onic Esports revealed Schevenko "Skylar" Tendean's gold lane masterclass, Game 1 saw him dismantled by the Orcas.
With Tristan "Yawi" Cabrera and Sanford "SanFord" Vinuya locking him down, RRQ struggled to find any damage output.
Even Calvin "VYN" couldn't find any opening to engage with his Grock.
The pieces started to click for ECHO PH as Frederic Benedict "Bennyqt" Gonzales erupted with his Harith, while Alston "Sanji" Pabico's Kadita stormed the clashes straight into ECHO's Game 1 win.
To counter the pressure that Skylar received in Game 1, RRQ found ways to protect him. Borne aloft by VYN's Diggie, the Kingdom was able to avenge their Game 1 loss.
With RRQ adjusting, ECHO pulled out their Bennyqt trump card for Game 3. They kicked things off with a strong initiation play from Yawi's Atlas and Sanford's Lapu-Lapu, who were key in bursting down key threats, especially Albert "Alberttt" Iskandar.
While the Indonesian squad had a response with Skylar's Beatrix and Rivaldi "R7" Fatah's Yu Zhong, the Orcas deployed Frederic Benedict "Bennyqt" Gonzales.
Just like in previous games, he would sneak his way to the back and wreak havoc with his Karrie. It was Bennyqt who dictated the latter stages of the game, giving ECHO PH the series lead.
Now with a chance to finally reach the finale, ECHO PH went all out as they forced R7 to struggle in the top lane. They even invaded Alberttt's jungle, who managed to stave off the Orcas by securing early kills and even helping his team secure the turtle.
It was evenly matched as both teams systematically dissected each other. ECHO read through VYN's signature Franco, while RRQ managed to acquire key objectives.
But eventually, SanFord became a force to be reckoned with as his Lapu-Lapu demolished members from the Kingdom, as evident in the 9th minute Lord fight.
ECHO ultimately found their groove to finish off RRQ. Yawi would initiate the plays, allowing KarlTzy and Sanford to conduct the followup, and this could alternate depending on the situation.
With momentum on ECHO's side, the Orcas slayed RRQ Hoshi and booked their ticket to the grand finals, proving, once again, that it's the Philippines that stands tall in the MLBB esports scene.