TWO SEASONS OF MDL Philippines have passed and it seems ECHO is the team to beat as they secured back-to-back trophies.
Can they secure a hat trick against a driven RRQ Kaito squad?
It may seem like ECHO could forge a stronger legacy with their 2-1 series lead, but RRQ's valiant Game 4 victory changed the momentum of the series.
Then entering into Game 5, RRQ had full control of the game as they secured a grueling 3-2 series win.
From the regular season, all the way to the grand finals, the RRQ Kingdom remains undefeated, all thanks to the efforts from Ferdz, DENJIRO, Minguin, Cy, xNova, MPL veteran Kenneth "Kenji" Villa, Dai Ki, and head coach Jian "Pauloxpert" Munsayac
How RRQ Kaito recovered?
Game 1 started off as an evenly matched affair but things started to snowball in favor of RRQ. ECHO simply fell into RRQ's aggressive combo featuring xNova's Chip plus Ferdz' Masha. Their surprise entrances completely overwhelmed the Orcas leading to their Game 1 win.
Games 2 and 3 was a struggle as ECHO saw a loophole that they could exploit. Jeymz delivered one of the best police duties as he shut down Ferdz. In addition, the team decided to ban Minguin's hero pool.
It likewise didn't help that DENJIRO was completely stifled in those games.
Desperate to bounce back, RRQ Kaito made crucial adjustments. DENJIRO was then given the chance to select Nolan, then his teammate xNova was given the opportunity to select his signature Chou.
It was a grit-and-grind battle between these two teams and it seemed The Kingdom has found their momentum as xNova's setups were crucial to give RRQ the lifeline.
However, ECHO still had their moments like that clutch Lord steal from Palos. Eventually, ECHO had the chance to end the game, but Cy's heroics with his Natan was the ultimate clutch factor, saving RRQ's championship campaign.
ECHO's overextension became their downfall as RRQ bounced back in Game 4.
And their collapse didn't just end there as RRQ came into Game 5 guns blazing with momentum. With a surprise jungle X-Borg pick from DENJIRO and the combined aggression from the Kingdom, the Orcas were left stunned.
From the beginning all the way to the end, ECHO had no answer, forcing them to concede the final game.
With their victory RRQ Kaito has garnered $3,690 (Php200,000), meanwhile xNova won the finals MVP award.
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