PUTRAJAYA, MALAYSIA – Filipino gold laner John “Innocent” Banal put up a record-setting performance to help the Selangor Red Giants eliminate RRQ Hoshi, 3-1, in the lower bracket quarterfinals of the M6 World Championship, Wednesday at the IOI Grand Exhibition & Convention Center here.
After being a non-factor in the first two games, Innocent flipped the script and went ballistic with a pair of monster Granger performances in the last two matches to help the reigning MPL Malaysia champion not only secure a top-four finish in the world tournament but also move closer to achieving the first-ever Golden Road in the ML:BB scene.
“On our first two games, I didn’t play really well that’s why I think that helped me a lot in our last two matches,” said Innocent when asked about his milestone.
Innocent delivered a historic performance on the Death Chanter in Game 3, tallying 19 kills to set the all-time single-game kills record in the M-Series, coincidentally against the previous record holder, Schevenko “Skylar” Tendean of RRQ.
“Hindi ko talaga in-expect ‘yun, gusto ko lang talaga makakuha kami ng momentum kaya naglalaro lang ako para manalo kami,” said Innocent.
He scored a Maniac during the seven-minute turtle fight, tipping the scales entirely in Selangor’s favor and securing a 2-1 lead in the series. Innocent finished with an immaculate 19-0-5 KDA line with a 96-percent kill participation.
Picking up where he left off, the two-time MPL Malaysia regular season MVP once again shone with Granger in the clincher, securing 13 kills and an assist in a dominant 18-6 Game Four victory that sealed their spot in the lower bracket semifinals.
“I think we’re more better when it comes to high-pressure games like being in the lower bracket. It’s like a buff for us, we perform better with more pressure. We’re just really glad that we’re now in the top four and hopefully, we make it all the way to the Grand Finals,” said Red Giants head coach Michael “Arcadia” Bocado.
Selangor escaped the King of Kings in the opener after a crucial four-man wipe initiated by Mark “KRAMM” Rusiana’s Gatotkaca in the latter part of the 20th minute. The home squad then proceeded for a siege, taking down Rendy “Dyrennn” Syahputra’s Gloo in the process to seal the Game 1 win.
In the second match, Hajirin “Rinz” Arafat used Kadita to secure a crucial pickoff on Hazziq “Stormie” Rizwan’s Vexana, while Dyrennn (Gloo) and Said “idok” Ridho (Khaleed) used their zoning abilities to keep the rest of the Red Giants at bay, allowing RRQ Hoshi to secure the Lord and eventually, the Game 2 victory.
Selangor looks to get closer to reaching its ultimate goal when they face off against Team Spirit on Saturday at the Axiata Arena for a spot in the lower bracket final.
