SIBOL'S League of Legends squad earned a shot at the gold medal in the 31st SEA Games after winning against Malaysia, 3-1.
Sibol’s League of Legends squad, composed of West Point Esports' Andre "Calumnia" Soriano, David "yjyyyyyyyyyy" Tapang, Jan "Creshowo" Hortizuela, Jan "RVL8" Retance, Hezro "ParzivaI" Canlas, and Matthew "Aeiden" Rogando. will meet Vietnam tomorrow, May 22, for the gold medal match.
Sibol overpowers Malaysia
Malaysia started strong, taking Game 1 with a quick 24:22 victory and a 24 to 8 kill score.
But Sibol found their stride in Game 2. First, they punished Malaysia’s 11:30 push on their bot lane tier one by taking down four champs. Then, another team fight in the 20:30 mark saw Sibol acing Malaysia after the latter pushed down their tier-one mid tower.
The PH squad evened out the series after a 27th-minute clash that saw Sibol fell three of Malaysia’s champions in exchange for two of their own. Top laner ParzivaI managed to crash the top lane’s minions onto the Nexus towers, finding the damage to take the game in just under 28 minutes.
Riding high on the momentum of their win, Sibol dominated Malaysia in Game 3, with the team going as high as 14 kills to Malaysia’s measly, 2, as well as a 11k ahead in gold by the 23rd minute. An ace at the half-hour mark minute was the finishing blow to Malaysia with the Pinoys getting the series point.
Game 4 was no different. They went up 16 kills to 4 just before the 21st minute after team-wiping Malaysia. Still, Malaysia found an slim opportunity to stay alive after finding a Baron steal in the 23rd-minute team fight around the pit.
They continued their hold up to the 27th-minute mark after punishing the Filipinos down mid with a massive Renata ulti paired with a Kennen ulti, to shut down Sibol’s bottom laner yjyyyyyyyyyy, as well as take down the mid lane Ahri and Support Karma. The hold allowed Malaysia to take back some much-needed map control and a few of Sibol’s towers as well.
But it was the Philippines who came out on top after a 28th-minute team fight where Jungler RVL8 unleashed a massive Wukong ult, briefly stunning three players while their Varus shredded the backline for the ace to secure the gold medal match.
Sibol had to fight tooth and nail for their semis matchup. The squad swept Thailand and got their revenge against Singapore to force tiebreakers. They would repeat against Singapore in the tiebreakers to top their group and avoid a dreaded Vietnam matchup in the semis.
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