Kalea unleashed: Renejay's unorthodox pick fuels Aurora's victory

AURORA overpowered Twisted Minds with a decisive 2-0 sweep in Week 5 of the MPL Philippines Season 15 regular season, fueled by the unique hero selection of Renejay “Renejay” Barcarse.

You asked for unorthodox picks? Aurora Gaming certainly knows how to deliver a shock factor in style, debuting Kalea in the hands of the Hitman Renejay.

The pressure is on for Renejay to make the Kalea pick work against Twisted Minds, but what pushed him to select the newly introduced fighter hero?

“Yung Kalea naman po talaga, sobrang maganda siya. Tapos bannable talaga siya. So kami nga po binan namin [sa] second game sa Twisted Minds kasi di po namin alam kung ginagamit nila. Based po sa scrim talaga, medyo maganda rin po talaga yung hero kaya nilabas din po namin,” Renejay said.

The Purify spell choices of Twisted Minds' Salic "Hadjizy" Imam on Cecilion and Jamaloding "Jamal" Dimati on Harith made it challenging for Renejay to engage in teamfights and mount crucial pickoffs in the opening game of the series.

“Tapos yun po yung sa kanina lang, medyo mahirap lang po mag-Kalea sa lineup nila. Ang ganda rin ng pickings nila. Puro mga naka-purify sila, tapos wala talaga akong huhulihin doon eh,” Renejay expressed.

“Ang daya nila, first game ko Kalea, di man lang ako binigyan ng magandang debut pick,” he jokingly added.

Twisted Minds may have come well-prepared, but coach Master the Basics believes it all came down to execution.

“I think ready sila. Ready silang kumalaban ng Kalea. Pero ang kinaganda lang kasi si Renejay mismo yung nag-adjust kung paano lalaruin yung hero. Kaya mas naging maganda yung performance ng Kalea namin kahit na ready sila,” coach Master the Basics said.

PHOTO: MPL Philippines, MOONTON Games

As Kalea joins the action in the second half of the season, her capacity to play three different roles could be a game-changer.

“Sa ngayon, support talaga. As in, support role. Kasi mas versatile siya doon. Mas marami siyang nagagawa. Sa jungle, 50-50 pa siya. Depende siguro talaga sa line-up. Yung isa pa is yung EXP lane. Ganoon din, goods din siya sa EXP lane kasi mayroon siyang fighter na role. So kaya niya ring makipagsabayan sa EXP. Yun yung mga possible na maging role niya,” coach Master the Basics explained.

Aurora remains undefeated with a flawless 8-0 record, and now they are inching closer to securing a spot in the MPL Philippines Season 15 playoffs.

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