Team Liquid PH secured their second win of MPL Philippines Season 14 by showcasing their dominance against TNC Pro Team, achieving a 2-0 sweep to kick off Week 2 on Friday at the Green Sun Hotel in Makati City.
The Cavalry improved to 2-0, forcing a three-way tie for second place with Smart Omega and Fnatic Onic Philippines, while keeping TNC at the bottom of the standings with a 0-3 start.
Early in the match, TLPH struggled against TNC but demonstrated their composure in the late game to secure a momentum-building Game 1 victory before closing out the series with a dominant performance.
“Maganda yung early game nila eh. Pero pagdating sa late game, medyo kulang sila sa damage,” said newly-appointed TLPH assistant coach Eric “Cyre” Mercader regarding TNC’s Game 1 performance.
Karl “KarlTzy” Nepomuceno further explained that the early game in the opener was indeed a struggle for them, which served as a lesson for the team moving forward: “Yung Game 1 po kasi namin, pangit yung start kasi na-invadan ako sa blue buff tapos yung isa pang jungle.
“Sobrang importante po kasi yun sa first 2 minutes ng game. Siguro yun po ang kailangan namin i-improve.”
In Game 1, the match came down to a critical 20th-minute sequence where KarlTzy (Roger) survived a 3-on-1 ambush, followed by a double kill from Sanford “Sanford” Vinuya (Edith), resulting in a 3-1 punishment.
The defending champions wasted no time in the subsequent base turret siege, taking the opener 1-0.
Game 2 was a lopsided affair for TLPH, capped off by Frederic “Bennyqt” Gonzales’ (Roger) triple kill late in the 15th minute, completing the sweep.
TLPH will next face FNOP tomorrow, August 24, to compete for solo second place in the standings.
