Team Liquid ECHO secured a return ticket to the MSC after emerging victorious in a tight five-game thriller against Falcons AP.Bren, securing a 3-2 win in the upper bracket finals of the MPL Philippines Season 13 Playoffs at the SM Southmall on Friday.
This will be TLPH’s second appearance in the MSC after finishing 3rd last year behind Blacklist International and ONIC Esports.
Head coach Archie “Tictac” Reyes lauded his wards who fought back from a deep deficit in the final game to complete a comeback and reach the title match for the third time in the last four seasons.
“Sobrang ganda nung pinakita nila, lalo na nung Game 5. Even though Bren had a 7k gold lead, they didn’t give up. Kahit ganun kalaki yung lamang, sa comms nila talagang ina-uplift nila ang isa’t isa,” he said of his team’s impressive mental fortitude in Game 5.
After conceding the opening match, Team Liquid made their move after the 4th-minute turtle fight in Game 2 as Karl “KarlTzy” Nepomuceno (XBorg) scored a killing spree to lead a 4-1 kill score.
However, FCAP equalized by the 20th minute until Jaypee “Jaypee” Cruz (Minotaur) executed a clutch three-man Minoan Fury that triggered a game-winning 5-0 wipeout, tying the series 1-1.
In Game 3, FCAP looked visibly outdrafted as TLPH took commanding control from the early game to reach match point via an 18-minute victory.
With FCAP scoring a rousing Game 4 win, they played with momentum and established a sizable 7k net worth lead by the 16th minute.
This is where Jaypee came in with his heroic plays, starting with a Divine Judgement pick off on FlapTzy (Barats) midway through the 18th minute then another Divine Judgement execution on Kyle “KyleTzy” Sayson (Nolan) in the 20th minute for a 4-1 exchange.
This paved the way for TLPH to force a midlane base turret siege and take the series.
