Omega Esports gold laner Duane “Kelra” Pillas made history on Saturday night, recording the first savage of the MPL Philippines Season Nine – the second of his young career – in the team’s 2-1 victory over defending champion Blacklist International.
Indeed, it was a sweet feeling for the 17-year-old rising star, who was actually on the verge of securing the milestone last week in the team’s impressive comeback win against ONIC PH.
“Masaya po. Makaka-Savage na rin po sana ako nung last [game] e, nung laban po namin sa ONIC kaso Lord po yung isa kaya hindi counted yung Savage,” said Kelra moments after the win against the back-to-back champions.
“Tapos ngayon po naka-Savage na kaya sobrang saya po,” he added.
Kelra, who tallied his first career Savage back in Season Seven against the same team, recalled the final play in Game Three in which he achieved the feat.
With Omega Esports ahead in the winner-take-all match, Blacklist International made the call to contest the second Lord – a Luminous one – past the 15-minute mark to try and salvage the series.
Anticipating the Tier One-backed team’s moves, Omega Esports managed to hold off the attempt. There, Kelra popped off, taking out Kent “Kevier” Lopez’s Lancelot, Dexter “DEX STAR” Alaba’s Estes, and Kiel “OHEB” Soriano’s Brody before turning his focus to the Luminous Lord.
After the team secured the objective, Kelra was able to eliminate Edward “Edward” Dapadap’s Uranus.
(C) MPL PH
Renz “Renzio” Cadua (Esmeralda), who was zoning out Salic “Hadji” Imam’s Pharsa, was a Stardust Dance away from taking out the Blacklist support but opted to let Hadji go for Kelra to take out.
Hadji used his Wings by Wings to try and evade Kelra, flying to the end of the map to deny the Savage. However, Kelra timed the Renner’s Apathy beautifully, firing the gun as soon as Hadji hit the ground.
“Nung una po nung pagkatutok ko nung sniper, babarilin ko na po sana e kaso ang likot. Bale na-predict ko po na kung ilang segundo yung ibon [Wings by Wings] kaya na-predict ko po kung kalian babagsak tapos doon ko na po binaril,” shared the reigning MSC MVP.
“Nakakataas po ng kumpyansa ‘pag nakaka-Savage,” he added.
Making the feat sweeter, Kelra was able to do it against his rival Kiel “OHEB” Soriano – who was dubbed as the ‘Filipino Sniper’ after putting on a show with Beatrix and Clint in the M3 World Championship.
“Siyempre po ako, ako pa rin po yung pinakamagaling mag Beatrix sa lahat. Sa buong Pilipinas, hindi lang po ako kasali ng M3 kaya siya yung tinawag na Filipino sniper,” ended Kelra, who posted a photo of him with OHEB after the match.
