WITH ONLY a sliver of hope remaining in their playoff push, both ECHO PH and Bren Esports came into their Saturday, October 9, faceoff primed and motivated. A 2-0 win for either team would automatically give them their playoff spots.
That ticket, however, would ultimately be punched by ECHO PH as they swept the world champions, 2-0.
Coming into Game 1 with all guns blazing, both teams unleashed their signature heroes: ECHO unveiled their Hayabusa and Mathilda, while Bren opted to select their championship-winning Khufra and Lancelot picks.
The combined efforts from Christian “Rafflesia” Fajura’s Mathilda and Jaymark Aaron “Hadess” Lazaro’s Hayabusa allowed ECHO to move around the map and weaken Karl “KarlTzy” Nepomuceno’s Lancelot. In most teamfights, ECHO had the upper hand as their mobility allowed them to easily burst down Angelo Kyle “Pheww” Arcangel and their magic penetration damage was too much for Bren to handle, leading to ECHO’s momentum-building Game 1 win.
Bren falls to ECHO in MPL-PH Week 7 Day 2 results
Desperate to keep themselves in contention, Bren gave ECHO a taste of their own medicine in Game 2 as they constantly harassed ECHO’s jungle, snatching away the purple buff.
It seemed Bren could finally force a decider — until the 12th minute where Frederic Benedict “Bennyqt” Gonzales was able to secure a crucial kill on KarlTzy. Even when Bren secured the tier 3 towers, they were forced to play conservatively due to ECHO’s potential damage outburst.
It went back-and-forth for both teams until the 20th minute, when Bennyqt snatched the Lord away from the hands of Bren Esports, leading to the final push to ECHO’s playoff ticket.
Amid the sweep, Bren could still head into the postseason. However they need to sweep their final match against Blacklist International, while hoping that RSG PH doesn’t garner a win against Onic PH in today's match.
Surprisingly, Coach Steven “DaleDalus” Vitug admitted in the post-match interview that his team never felt any pressure from the do-or-die encounter against the world champions.
“Hindi naman dahil sa overconfidence pero wala naman kaming naramdaman na kaba kase sanay na kami sa ganitong scenario," said ECHO PH's mentor. "Tapos nakatulog naman at mas excited pa nga yung mga players maglaro kase ganundin naman e. Laro na lang sa puso natin, matalo sa puso natin, manalo sa puso natin. Yun yung mindset namin.”
He even included his message to the players before the match.
“Basta enjoy yung game na ito, since last series naman ito ng regular season. Laruin na lang at mag-enjoy sila para kung ano maging resulta, hindi nila pagsisisihan sa huli.”
As ECHO marches to the playoffs, the other two matches have yet to reach a conclusion. RSG are hoping to keep their playoff hopes alive with a victory over the second seeded Onic PH. A win for RSG would eliminate Bren in the playoff race.
While Omega are vying to attain a higher seed in the playoff standing with a win over Blacklist International.
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