WITH THE regular season reaching the halfway mark and with their playoff hopes fading away after suffering from consecutive defeats, Bren Esports regained their championship form with a win over Nexplay EVOS, 2-1.
It was a lopsided tale of the tape coming into battle, with Bren suffering from horrid performances in the first four weeks, versus Nexplay, a team that has experienced a resurgence after impressive wins over dark horse RSG PH and local powerhouse ECHO PH.
Right off the bat, Bren unveiled a hyper aggressive gameplan, evident in Game 1 as they unleashed Angelo Kyle “Pheww” Arcangel’s Popol and Kupa, and Karl “KarlTzy” Nepomuceno’s Paquito.
Their rotations limited Tristan “Yawi” Cabrera’s setups, weakening the teamfight prowess of Nexplay and ultimately forcing them to concede the first game.
Surprised by Bren’s offensive barrage, Nexplay adapted with a damage-centric lineup in Game 2. This allowed them to turn the tables as Jeniel “YellyHaze” Bata-Anon’s Kagura eliminated key threats in every teamfight.
His efforts, combined with Yawi’s crucial pickoffs and James “Jeymz” Gloria’s flawless Esmeralda performance, provided Nexplay the momentum needed to secure their Game 2 victory.
Realizing the threat that Yawi imposed, Bren decided to deny his signature heroes in Game 3. They were able to ban the Khufra and Akai, and selected Jawhead, forcing Yawi to use Silvana.
Though his hero synergizes well with YellyHaze’s Pharsa, Yawi was unable to dictate the tempo of the game, giving the World Champions a comfortable Game 3 win.
Bren’s victory over Nexplay has propelled them above TNC in the overall rankings, though they are still out of playoff contention as they are only ranked 7th.
During the post-match interview, the “Tzy” brothers revealed the key catalysts for their victory, with David Charles “FlapTzy” Canon trumpeting their return to form.
“Binalik namin yung playstyle dati tapos hindi na kami nag-aadjust sa iba, dapat sila na yung mag-adjust sa amin,” said Bren’s EXP laner.
While his teammate, KarlTzy expressed a different perspective, in which he highlighted the team’s change in culture. “Siguro po yung early weeks namin hindi kami nagkakasundo lahat, tapos hindi alam kung ano role namin,” Bren’s gold laner said.
“Ano po e, parang walang comms, hindi masyadong nag-uusap, parang walang bonding, parang malungkot, panget ang atmosphere dito pero ngayon nagbago na. Lahat kami responsible sa change, lahat kami nagising.”
ECHO PH keeps their momentum rolling with an impressive win over Onic PH
In their previous encounter back in Day 1, Onic’s split pushing game overwhelmed ECHO PH, forcing them to yield both games. The same outcome nearly happened as Onic was able to deploy their key rotational tactics in Game 1 for the victory.
However, ECHO made changes through their Popol & Kupa and Selena combo, which allowed them to control the map. This tandem proved to be the difference maker in the final two games, as they were able to scout for key targets and weaken Onic’s aggression.
This strategy combined with the individual performances from Jaymark Aaron “Hadess” Lazaro secured for ECHO the series win.
RSG PH sweeps Southeast Asian Kings Omega Esports
RSG PH once again lived up to their moniker as “Kingslayers” as they avenged their previous loss against Omega Esports with a dominant 2-0 sweep.
The Southeast Asian juggernaut were left in the dust by the dynamic duo of Earvin John “Heath” Esperanza’s Angela and Jonard Cedrix “Demonkite” Caranto’s Ling.
Demonkite even made headlines with his 9th minute play in Game 1, where he killed Patrick James “E2MAX” Caidic on the botlane and immediately stole the Lord afterwards. He then delivered the finishing blow on key members from Omega.