THE LAST time these teams met, it was ECHO PH who won due to Nexplay’s controversial no-show. Because of that incident, the MPL today published a tongue-in-cheek meme featuring John Paul “H2wo” Salonga and Tristan “Yawi” Cabrera, calling back to hit teleserye One More Chance... with a traffic-laden highway on the foreground.
Both teams are currently suffering from a losing slump, however it was Nexplay EVOS who managed to end their streak as they surprisingly swept ECHO PH with their rookie-led roster.
How Nexplay stomped the super team
At first, it seemed Nexplay EVOS would once again suffer from another loss as ECHO PH smothered their early game pressure.
At the early stages of Game 1, Kenneth Palejo “CADENZA” Castro was struggling to create opportunities to disrupt Karl “KarlTzy” Nepomuceno’s jungle control, bolstered by Tristan “Yawi” Cabrera and Jankurt Russel “KurtTzy” Matira.
But when it came to teamfights, the Roaring Tigers managed to bounce back.
It started in the 8th minute, where Rainiel Jhim “URESHII” Logronio made a surprise backline assault, and though Frederic Benedict “Bennyqt” Gonzales managed to do the same, he stood no chance against the tankiness and CC presence from Michael “MP The King” Endino’s Barats and CADENZA’s Franco.
Then on the 19th minute, URESHII came up clutch as he denied ECHO’s control of the Lord fight. Charging straight to the backlines, Nexplay had the advantage and Jeniel “YellyHaze” Bata-anon was given the free reigns to unleash his magical barrage.
After the failed Lord attempt, ECHO tried desperately to go for the base race, but Nexplay beat them to it as they secured their Game 1 win.
After that loss, fans may have expected ECHO to bounce back as Nexplay fielded the same lineup of Barats, Franco, and Xavier.
However, ECHO was left scrambling from the very first minute.
If CADENZA was struggling to control the tempo in Game 1, he had a smoother time as his hooks were perfectly timed. Due to his crowd control presence, he was able to synergize with YellyHaze’s Xavier. They even found an alternative with MP The King’s Barats, who secured a key target and combined with Xavier.
In the end, KarlTzy struggled to control the jungle. It didn’t help that Mariusz Villamero “DONUT” Tan dominated Bennyqt. Eventually things snowballed as Nexplay cruised past the Orcas for a 2-0 win.
Due to their recent loss, the “superteam” questions are being raised on the Orcas. Have teams already deciphered their game plan?
How default loss against ECHO affected the Roaring Tigers
Nexplay's victory over ECHO PH was a perfect way to end the doubts surrounding the very first encounter between the two teams. And those doubts even affected Nexplay EVOS which Setsuna "Akosi Dogie" Ignacio revealed in a post-match interview.
"Doon nagsimula yung kamalasan eh. Hindi kami naka-move on after yung nangyari. Halos lahat sa amin na-down nun. Tapos at that point nawalan na sila ng gana," said the MLBB sensation.
In fact this was further confirmed by MP The King, who also stated that their recent victory has served as a confidence booster.
"I think maganda yung performances namin mga early weeks sadyang nagka-downfall sa ECHO. Masyado nilang in-overthink yung pangyayaring iyun parang ayun pagdating sa scrim apektado na, nagkaka-tilt na," he reflected.
He added: "Pero at the same time dahil sa nangyari ngayon, nag-boost yung morale."
But besides talking about the default loss against ECHO, Dogie shed some light as to why John Paul "H2wo" Salonga and Renejay "RENEJAY" Barcarse weren't featured in the final game of the regular season.
“Hindi namin sila (RENEJAY and H2wo) pinalaro kase kabisado ni Yawi yung gameplay nila kase nga laging kasama ni Yawi si H2wo. Hindi namin pwedeng i-risk yun.”
Given their momentous win, the Roaring Tigers showed some signs of promise for the upcoming playoffs.
Get more of the latest sports news & updates on SPIN.ph
NOTICE ON UNAUTHORIZED AND UNLAWFUL USE, PUBLICATION, AND/OR DISSEMINATION OF SPIN.PH CONTENT: Please be notified that any unauthorized and unlawful use, publication, and/or dissemination of Spin.ph’s content and/or materials is a direct violation of its legal and exclusive rights to the same, and shall be subject to appropriate legal action/s.
