Aurora overpowered Team Falcons in a swift 2-0 series sweep during MPL Philippines Season 15 on Sunday at the Green Sun Hotel in Makati.
While some teams struggled in Week 4, Aurora thrived, executing the UBE-strat — a tactic popularized by Blacklist International, which dominated Seasons 7 through 12.
When asked about this strategy in the post-match interview, Aurora head coach Aniel “Master the Basics” Jiandani expressed that the concept never really faded. Rather, teams simply have more options in their strategic play.
“Yes, tingin ko hindi naman totally bumalik, kasi para samin talaga siya nawala. Mas dumadami lang yung options ngayon, pero para samin hindi talaga nawala yung healing META eh. Kasi ever since naman binaban samin yung Mathilda. Alam namin kung pano talaga siya laruin,” Master the Basics said.
Despite other teams opting not to utilize Badang in their lineups due to the hero’s nerfs in the latest patch, Jiandani placed the hero in the hands of Renejay “Renejay” Bacarse in Game 1.
“The Hitman” maximized his coach’s trust, leading Aurora to a dominant performance with 16 assists in a 20-minute and 50-second match.
Team Falcons had no answer for Aurora’s strategy as they were caught off-guard by a Franco pick to counter their Mathilda.
Game 2 came to a close at the 10:05 mark, courtesy of a successful backdoor play by Dominic “Domengkite” Delmundo’s Moskov.
Aurora, known as “The Northern Lights,” will be back in action on March 28 to open the second round of the tournament, facing off against Twisted Minds.
After having their five-game winning streak snapped, Team Falcons will aim to get back on track when they clash with Team Liquid this Saturday at 2:30 p.m.
