Buoyed by Benedict “Bennyqt” Gonzales’s brilliance, Echo took win No. 2 after taking down their Sibol qualifiers tormentor Bren Esports, 2-0, to take solo lead in Week 1 of the Mobile Legends: Bang Bang Professional League (MPL) Philippines Season 11 on Saturday.
Bennyqt took over in Game 2 with a near-perfect 5-1-8 KDA with the Harith pick on the way to the match MVP.
He was instrumental in the 17-minute victory as he totally outclassed Season 10 best goldlaner Marco “Super Marco” Requitano who was limited to a 1-6-5 KDA.
“Sobrang pagod lang namin nung time na yun. Di kami makapag-isip nang maayos tas di rin kami sama-sama kasi nagcelebrate na rin bawat isa nung araw na yun kaya siguro kami natalo,” said Echo Assistant Coach Robert “Trebor” Sanchez of their Sibol loss to Bren.
The opener was a deja vu of sorts after Echo pulled a similar backdoor pictory during Season 11 when two members engaged Bren in a lord fight while Karl “KarlTzy” Nepomuceno (Fanny), Tristan “Yawi” Cabrera (Chou) and Bennyqt (Beatrix) took down the enemy base turret without any help from any minion wave.
This time it was Sanford “Sanford” Vinuya (Benedetta) who succeeded in a split push after four Echo members sacrificed their lives to delay Bren’s base defense in Game 1.
“Nakita ko po kasi na yung tatlong kalaban na kay Benny at kay Karl. Nakita ko rin na open yung botlane kaya ayun,” shared Sanford of his winning play in Game 1.
“Kasi sanay din po ako na ako yung di nagpapauwi ng kalaban so parang nagswitch role po kami ni Benny nung time na yun. “
He took MVP honors courtesy of the nifty final play that gave Echo the opening win.
