Defending champion Echo successfully rebounded from a stinging upper bracket loss, securing a 3-1 victory over RSG Philippines.
This win sets up a lower bracket finals match-up against Blacklist International in the Mobile Legends Bang Bang Professional League (MPL) Philippines Season 12 playoffs, held at the EVM Convention Center in Quezon City on Friday.
According to Echo coach Robert “Trebor” Sanchez, the team was much more composed this time compared to their performance during a 3-1 loss to Blacklist in the upper bracket the day before.
“Yung disiplina talaga yung nagpanalo sa amin kasi nung tinalo kami ng Blacklist, sobrang tahimik ng mga players habang naglalaro sila. Ngayon sobrang palong-palo sila kaya ayun, yun ang nagpanalo,” the coach explained. “Yung RSG, sobrang lakas din talaga nila. Isang mali lang din namin, talo na kami. Ayun, buti na lang nanalo.”
In Game 1, the match was decided in a 21st-minute midlane skirmish, where Karl “KarlTzy” Nepomuceno (Akai) pinned down three enemy heroes with the Heavy Spin, initiating a 3-0 pickoff and giving Echo a 1-0 lead. The M2 World Championship MVP, KarlTzy, led the way with a KDA of 3-3-7.
Echo maintained their momentum in Game 2, dominating RSG with an impressive 11-1 kill score, buoyed by Alston “Sanji” Pabico’s Pharsa, who finished with a perfect 5-0-5 KDA.
After RSG retaliated with a Game 3 win, Sanford “Sanford” Vinuya delivered the best play of the series during the 23rd-minute lord fight, executing a three-man petrify play that sparked a series-clinching 3-0 wipe.
This was the worst finish for RSG since a 5th-6th place finish back in Season 8. The Raiders went on to nab the title in Season 9 and then settled for back-to-back third-place finishes in the next two seasons.
