By: Jan Marcus Montevirgen
Aurora ended RSG Philippines’ hopes of making the playoffs with a commanding 2-0 sweep during Day 2 of the final week of MPL Philippines Season 14’s regular season on Saturday at the Green Sun Hotel in Makati.
The turning point came in Game 2 when Dylan “Light” Catipon (Chou) was picked off by Renejay “Renejay” Barcarse (Mathilda) and Jonard “Demonkite” Caranto (Hayabusa) at the 14-minute and 17-second mark. Moments later, Arvie “Aqua” Calderon (Valentina) was also taken down.
RORA capitalized on this momentum, finishing the game in just 14 minutes and 54 seconds, boasting a kill score of 13-4.
“Tingin ko po sa performance namin, all goods naman po pero meron pa rin mga minimal errors kami na mga nagawa namin na pwede pa rin naming i-improve bukas sa laban namin after i-review namin [yung game] pag-uwi namin,” said team captain Renejay during the post-match interview.
In Game 1, the 21-year-old roamer delivered a stellar performance using Tigreal, leading RORA to victory and earning the match MVP title with a KDA of one kill, two deaths, and nine assists.
This decisive victory not only marked a significant achievement for Aurora but also kept their upper-bracket contention alive, as they now share an identical 8-5 record with Team Liquid Philippines and Smart Omega. Additionally, the series win allowed Blacklist International to clinch the last playoff spot.
Notably, this marks the first time in franchise history that RSG has been eliminated during the regular season.
Looking ahead, Aurora is set to conclude their regular-season matches against Blacklist International on Sunday at 5:00 p.m.
