With their playoff hopes hanging in the balance, King “K1ngkong” Perez put up a masterful Lancelot performance to help TNC score another massive upset victory over world champion ECHO in the MPL Philippines Season 11 regular season.
After a surprise win in the opener, TNC survived ECHO’s fightback in Game Two to boost their playoff chances with a huge 2-0 sweep at the Shooting Gallery Studios in Makati City.
With the MPL PH Season 10 runners-up looking to even out the series with a crucial Lord take during the 31st minute, K1ngkong, who was already zoned by Tristan “Yawi” Cabrera’s Chou, managed to find his way back into the Lord pit and steal the major objective from right under Karl “KarlTzy” Nepomuceno’s (Alice) nose.
That sole play paved the way for TNC to secure a 19-17 Game Two win in 37 minutes and 26 seconds – their second consecutive win after dealing the league-leading Bren Esports their first loss last Sunday.
(C) MPL PH
“Para sa akin po, kaya napaganda yung play na yun, kasi nung time na ako yung na-stun, tumulong sa akin si Benthings na-stun din niya yung Alice,” K1ngkong told Tiebreaker Times after the win.
“Parehas kaming naka-stun, pero naunang nawala yung stun sa akin, kaya ako yung naunang nakakuha ng Lord,” added the rookie jungler, who secured five Lords for TNC compared to ECHO’s two.
K1ngkong said that the team entered the game with a ‘nothing to lose’ mentality. This, according to him, allowed them to play without pressure and perform what they have been doing in scrimmages.
“Siguro po, yung laman ng isipan namin nothing to lose na lang po, kasi hindi naman po namin ma-control yung lahat ng resulta. Kaya dapat po, kahit anong mangyari, ibigay lang namin yung best namin,” said K1ngkong.
“Hindi ko na po iniisip kung makakapasok pa ng playoffs. Ang nasa isipan na lang naming lahat, lahat ng games gagawin namin yung best namin,” he added.
But what made the win much sweeter for TNC’s rising star is the fact that he managed to beat his idol KarlTzy, who is considered one of the best Lancelot players in the world, using his main hero.
(C) MPL PH
“Syempre po, sobrang sarap sa pakiramdam, kasi dati ko pa po siyang pinapanood sa MPL. Naging idol ko rin po siya. Kaya ngayon namang natalo ko siya na gamit ko pa yung main hero niya, sobrang saya po.”
