Kairi “Kairi” Rayosdelsol dazzled as ONIC PH opened its MPL Philippines Season Nine campaign with a huge 2-1 statement win over defending champion Blacklist International on Friday night.
The rematch of the MPL Philippines Season Eight and the M3 World Championship finals surely did not disappoint, with the series reaching three games.
ONIC PH, though, had the last laugh after a strong performance in Game Three powered by Kairi’s Fanny.
The M3 World Champion silver medalists took the first two Lords in the decider but failed to finish the game inside the first 15 minutes of the match. This allowed Blacklist International to farm up, take out Jaylord “Hatred” Gonzales’ Chou, and nab the third Lord in the 15:57-minute mark.
After a long standstill, ONIC PH found its opening after killing Mark “ESON” Gerardo’s Ruby which opened up a free Luminous Lord take.
ONIC PH then went for the game-winning siege to secure the series, 22-12, in 23 minutes and 56 seconds.
Kairi finished with eight kills and seven assists against two deaths while Marky “Markyyyyy” Capacio had nine kills and five assists against one death on Clint.
ONIC PH’s aggressiveness proved to be the key in its 14-6 Game One dominance over Blacklist International.
With Kairi (Lancelot) and Gerald “Dlarskie” Trinchera (Phoveus) leading the early assault, ONIC PH was able to build an almost 9K gold advantage in the 12-minute-mark.
Blacklist International was forced to group prematurely — causing Kiel “OHEB” Soriano, who had a hard time in the laning phase, to miss his timing.
The MPL PH Season Eight second placer grabbed the Luminous Lord without contest in the 12:47-minute mark and proceeded with the game-winning siege. ONIC PH secured a five-man wipe to close out the dominant win in 14 minutes and one second.
Kairi finished with seven kills and three assists against one death to notch his first MVP citation while Dlarskie added four kills and five assists against just one death.
On the other hand, Kent “Kevier” Lopez (Balmond) had two kills and a death in his first MPL match.
Blacklist International bucked a slow start to take a hard-fought 12-12 Game Two victory and event the series in 27 minutes and four seconds.
Kairi opened up the second match with another stellar performance, wreaking havoc in the early game by putting up a 5-0-2 KDA line on his Paquito. He led ONIC PH to a 7-1 start in the first eight minutes of the match.
Blacklist International, though, finally got its much-needed break a minute after. The Tier One-backed squad caught ONIC PH, who was rushing the Lord down the bottom lane in an ambush that saw Blacklist International secure a four-man wipe and the objective entering the nine-minute-mark.
The reigning world champions secured three more Lords but could not penetrate ONIC PH’s tough tower defense.
ONIC PH then contested a Blacklist International Luminous Lord take in the 26th minute with Hatred (Ruby) catching three heroes with his I’m Offended. That, however, backfired as the team failed to defend its base from Super Minions.
OHEB (Kimmy) tallied three kills, two deaths, and three assists, while Edward “EDWARD” Dapadap (Dyroth) had five kills, three deaths, and four assists in Game Two.
ONIC PH will look to sustain its fine start against Nexplay EVOS on Sunday at 4:00 PM while Blacklist International will try to enter the win column on Saturday against TNC at 8:00 PM.
