TWISTED Minds secured its first win in the MPL Philippines Season 17 after a hard-earned 2-1 win over Smart Omega in the second day of Week 2 at the Victoria Sports Tower in Quezon City.
The once rookies of Twisted Minds have matured into more confident and composed sophomores this season and it showed in their takedown of Omega.
Carlo “Caloy” Roma, playing as Khaleed, was a constant nuisance with his highlight-worthy setups in Game 1, while Miguel “Sionnn” Alcantara showed that being a copycat can pay off with standout Valentina play in Game 3.
Meanwhile, TNC Pro Team also entered the winning column with a 2-0 sweep over ONIC Philippines, giving mid laner Dale “Stowm” Vidor a triumphant homecoming after his stint in Malaysia.
When it mattered most, Benedict “Bennyqt” Gonzales emerged as TNC’s savior, unleashing a show-stealing maniac in the last game to seal the deal.
Twisting the Game
Reeling off losses to ONIC and Team Liquid PH in the opener, Twisted Minds finally upped its game and was rewarded with a 2-1 victory over Smart Omega.
In Game 1, Twisted Minds overwhelmed Smart Omega, securing a 16-2 kill score, with Carlo “Caloy” Roma on Khaleed constantly pressuring and breaking Omega’s formation.
His flawlessly timed Raging Sandstorm and Flicker combo during the 11-minute mid lane inhibitor push stunned three Smart Omega members, allowing Twisted Minds to commit fully to the final push.
Caloy finished with an impressive 1-0-13 KDA and 88% kill participation to lead Twisted Minds to a 1-0 lead.
Smart Omega turned things around in Game 2, with Dean "Raizen" Sumagui winning the retribution battle every time the lord objective was available.
Kenneth “Netskie” Barro, playing as Freya, delivered a 3-1-5 KDA to help Smart Omega tie the series at 1-1.
In Game 3, Twisted Minds built an early game lead, but Smart Omega attempted to trim down the deficit after Raizen successfully stole the 14-minute lord objective.
Smart Omega leaned on Carl “Minguin” Gallantes’ Vexana to hold off Twisted Minds, dragging game 3 to a grueling 22 minutes, but Twisted Minds pressed on after taking down Netskie’s Claude in the final push.
Sionnn on Valentina stepped up and closed out the series with an impressive 4-1-12 KDA.
TNC Brings the Heat
TNC Pro Team tasted the first victory in the regular season after sweeping ONIC Philippines, recovering from the previous week’s tough loss against AP.Bren and Aurora Gaming PH.
In Game 1, TNC Pro Team completely dominated ONIC PH with a landslide 16-3 score on the board.
Justine “Zaida” Palma played his cards right as Harley and delivered a 7-1-7 KDA.
In Game 2, TNC Pro Team attempted to finish the game in a similar dominating fashion, but a disaster unfolded during the top lane inhibitor turret push when Clayton “Savero” Kuswanto exploded for a maniac kill score during the 11-minute mark, creating enough breathing space for ONIC Philippines in hopes of turning the game around.
TNC made sure the win wouldn’t slip away, as Bennyqt’s Cici came up with a clutch maniac that led to a wipeout and sealed the series against ONIC PH.
The MVP was none other than Bennyqt, who led TNC with an outstanding 7-1-3 KDA.
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.
