By: Jan Marcus Montevirgen and Jonash Dannug
Falcons AP.Bren head coach Francis “Duckey” Glindro believes that Liquid ECHO is equally deserving to be in the championship round after their thrilling encounter in the Mobile Legends: Bang Bang Mid Season Cup 2024 semifinals last Friday.
AP.Bren, who lost to the same team in the MPL Philippines Season 13 Grand Finals via a sweep, claimed sweet revenge over Liquid ECHO following a 3-1 victory in the best-of-five semis at the AMAZON Arena in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia.
Duckey revealed that it was tough to see their fellow Filipino squad go, but he said he felt relieved to finally take down the reigning Kings of MPL PH.
“I feel relieved that we [had] the vengeance that we were hoping for. I do feel bad for Liquid ECHO at the same time because I personally feel that they also deserve to be in the championship… in the grand finals, I mean,” Duckey said.
Assistant coach and lead drafter Robert “Trebor” Sanchez said that KyleTzy’s wide hero pool and AP.Bren’s ability to adapt to the new meta proved to be the team’s main advantage over Team Liquid ECHO in their All-Filipino semifinal encounter.
“Tingin ko yung meta talaga nagkaiba kase yung jungler namin sobrang dami niyang heroes na assassin. Kaya siguro ang laking advantage namin sa Liquid ECHO kase si KarlTzy, medyo hindi na nag siya naga-assassin kaya ‘don namin sila na-outdraft,” Trebor emphasized.
Team Liquid ECHO capped off their campaign with a 3rd-4th place finish, bringing home a total of $200,000 or more than to ₱11,000,000.
AP.Bren, meanwhile, moved on to the grand finals where they will face the winner of the NIP.Flash-Selangor Red Giants matchup.
Despite Team Liquid ECHO’s unexpected exit from the tournament, Duckey and Trebor hold firm to their belief that the Philippines will continue to assert its dominance as the premier region in MLBB for the foreseeable future, attributing this to the unwavering passion of its players.
“Sa tingin ko hanggang sa matapos yung ML. Tingin ko dominating pa rin Pilipinas eh. Kase minamahal nila yung laro tsaka hardworking sila,” Trebor said
“I feel there’s no stopping for now, for the Filipino era MLBB. It’s kinda hard [to say] how long exactly we will exactly last in this pedalstone, on top of the MLBB world but I am really happy [for] the Philippines [as] the best region for Mobile Legends,” Duckey added.
