PUTRAJAYA, MALAYSIA – The Golden Road is still within reach for the Selangor Red Giants.
Led by Filipino gold laner John “Innocent” Banal, reigning MPL Malaysia champion Selangor dominated NIP Flash, 3-0, in the first round of the knockout lower bracket stage to stay alive in the M6 World Championship, Tuesday at the IOI Grand Exhibition & Convention Center here.
The win also kept the team in the hunt for the first-ever Golden Road in the ML:BB scene, which requires winning two MPL titles, the Mid Season Cup, and the M-Series in the same year.
The Red Giants are the third team in history with a shot at clinching the elusive feat, following RRQ Akira in 2022 and ONIC Indonesia in 2023.
The path, however, just got tougher for the Michael “Arcadia” Bocado-coached team as they will face Indonesia’s RRQ Hoshi in the second round of the knockouts on Wednesday.
Innocent came through for the Red Giants in the first two series, delivering a solid 4-0-4 KDA on Bruno in the 14-6 Game 1 win after 13 minutes of play and finishing with nine kills and three assists against one death on Granger in the 16-6 Game 2 victory.
Another Filipino in Mark “Kram” Rusiana also made crucial contributions, especially in Game 2, providing timely setups and flanks with his Gatotkaca, which allowed the Red Giants to secure a 2-0 advantage.
Innocent once again starred for the home squad in the clincher, putting on seven kills and seven assists against one death in the tight 16-15 Game 3 win in 20 minutes.
Meanwhile, Russian squad Team Spirit, coached by Vrendon “Vren” Lin, took care of business against home squad Team Vamos, 3-1, also in the first round of the lower bracket earlier in the day.
Team Spirit will take on Falcon Esports in hopes of making it to the best-of-five lower bracket semifinals, while Team Vamos, led by gold laner Kenneth “Nets” Barro, capped off the tournament in 7th-8th place.
