ECHO claimed its ticket to the playoffs after sending Bren Esports crashing via a 2-0 sweep in Mobile Legends: Bang Bang Professional League-Philippines Season Eight, Saturday afternoon.
With the win, ECHO moved up to the fifth spot with 19 points off a 6-8 standing all while dimming the world champion’s playoff hopes.
ECHO showed great composure in Game One, clamping down Karl “KarlTzy” Nepomuceno’s Lancelot to score the huge 22-7 victory and keep their playoff hopes alive.
Though Bren Esports fought back early, everything quickly crumbled down as ECHO managed to control the succeeding fights to take a huge advantage.
Mark “Hadess” Lazaro’s Hayabusa bagged the SMART 5G MVP with eight kills and seven assists against just one death in the dominant win which lasted for just 14 minutes and 10 seconds.
“Actually, hindi naman sa overconfident pero wala naman kaming naramdaman na kaba, sanay na rin kami sa ganitong scenario tapos nakatulog naman kasi excited pa nga yung mga players,” said ECHO coach Steven “Dale” Vitug.
With their backs on the wall, Bren Esports showed much-improved play in Game Two, taking over the early game thanks to the aggression of Allan “Lusty” Castromayor (Grock), David “FlapTzy” Canon (Benedetta), and KarlTzy (Ling).
That lead, however, was short-lived as ECHO managed to secure the final Luminous Lord to complete its come-from-behind victory.
Benedict “Bennyqt” Gonzales’ Alice, who carried the fight for ECHO after Hadess got shut down early by Bren Esports, took home the SMART 5G MVP with five kills, two deaths, and four assists. The match ran for 21 minutes and 38 seconds.
Bren Esports dropped to a 5-8 standing with 14 points still at the seventh spot. The MPL Philippines Season Six champion will have to hope for an ONIC PH sweep against RSG PH and then sweep reigning champion Blacklist International on Sunday at 6:00 PM.
