Gone was the flashy TNC squad that thrived on individual mechanics rather than team play.
This time around, with the team’s newest additions, TNC is set to carve out a different path as they aim to rise from the league’s cellar. And so far, so good for the MPL Philippines’ last-placed team in Season Eight.
“Lahat po kami parang iisang galaw na lang po kami, team na po kami na solid na gumalaw hindi na po kami individual plays,” said team captain Ben “Benthings” Maglaque after TNC’s massive 2-0 upset of Omega Esports on Season Nine’s opening day.
“Nabawasan na po yung ganun.”
The rookie-laden squad, which only had two holdovers from last season’s squad in Benthings and Daniel “SDzyz” Chu, showed great discipline in its mastery of the SMART-backed squad.
In the opener, TNC dissected Omega Esports’ composition which put great emphasis on protecting and allowing Duane “Kelra” Pillas’ Kimmy to scale up down the gold lane. TNC then stayed true to its pickoff strategy in Game Two to seal the sweep.
TNC also maintained its early lead in both games – something that they had a hard time doing in the previous season.
According to Benthings, everything was just a product of their hard work during scrimmages and film sessions.
“Sa scrim pa lang po, dinidisiplina na po namin yung team para sa MPL, parang normal day na lang po. Lahat po confident po na gumalaw,” said the sophomore roamer, who made the game-clinching play in Game Two playing Chou.
TNC will be put to the test tomorrow, Saturday at 8:00 PM against defending MPL Philippines and M3 world champion Blacklist International.
