FOR THE past two seasons, Bren Esports scored their first win by beating Execration/Omega Esports.
And once again history repeats itself as Bren Esports secured a crucial 2-1 series win over Omega Esports. This was the first series win for Bren Esports in Season 9, a perfect response to the doubts surrounding this team’s execution.
The series was marked by the resurgence of Bren’s secondary unit as their reserve players took centerstage.
How Bren dissected Omega Esports
In Game 1, Bren made crucial drafting decisions to weaken key members from Omega. First was the Akai pick from Allan “Lusty” Castromayor Jr. as he intimidated Dean Christian “Raizen” Samagui. Lusty’s use of the Hurrican Dance even pinned Raizen, perfectly synergizing with Vincent Joseph “Pandora” Villones Unigo’s anti-sustain Dyrroth.
To make matters worse, Mujahid Usman “LORD MALIKK” Malik got so much farming space that allowed him to snowball. With all the gold he'd accumulated, he was able to acquire key items that boosted his damage and survivability, making him a major threat in teamfights, as seen with his Maniac in the 10th minute.
Omega responded in Game 2 by going extremely aggressive in the jungle to shut down Malikk, leading to a Bren defeat.
And it seemed the same outcome would happen in Game 3 as Omega once again deployed their jungle invasion antics.
But Bren had the perfect response as both Vincent Joseph “Pandora” Villones Unigo and Jomari Davidas “Jowm” Pingol stepped up to the plate. As Bren grouped up, they attained the necessary damage outburst to eliminate key threats.
This forced Omega to respond via Raizen’s split pushing antics, but once again Bren proved that they had an answer.
Seeing the numbers disadvantage, Bren capitalized on this and forced Raizen in a major dilemma.
And to add the finishing touches, Pandora would sacrifice his life to finally give Bren their very first win in the MPL.
A long struggle before their much needed win
As Bren notched their very first Season 9 win, Allan "Lusty" Castromayor, Jr. narrated what happened before they secured this victory over Omega Esports, going all the way back to Season 8.
“Mula noong nanalo kami against TNC hanggang malaglag kami noong Season 8, wala nang kaming chemistry parang kanya-kanyang sisihan," he reflected. "Yung ibang player may ayaw na kakampi, tapos yung akala ng isang player, siya yung ayaw, yun pala hindi masabi nung isang player kung sino talaga yung ayaw niya."
But with their win against OMG, Bren finally gained some confidence for this season and with an optimistic mindset that the team's reserves have, it's possible for them to make their resurgence.
Pandora even expressed how this mindset helped them secure their first win.
"Para sa akin sa identity at sa playstyle namin, mas masaya kami parang magkakaibigan kami habang naglalaro. Yung Team A magkakaibigan rin kaso nga lang nag-o-overthink sila sa pangyayari."
To which Lusty added: “Tsaka kaunti lang pressure sa amin!”