AP.Bren improved on last season’s finish by securing an upper bracket finals berth, courtesy of a 3-2 escape of RSG Philippines in the Mobile Legends Bang Bang Professional League (MPL) Philippines Season 12 playoffs at the EVM Convention Center in Quezon City on Thursday.
This marked the first time that AP.Bren reached the upper bracket finals since taking the title back in Season 6. They will now face Blacklist International for the first ticket to the M5 World Championship in December.
In Season 11, the reigning IESF World Champions fell to a fourth-place finish after failing to secure a single win in the postseason, despite earning an outright upper bracket berth in the regular season.
With RSG taking the opener, the reigning IESF World Champions won two straight games, with Kyle Angelo “KyleTzy” Sayson (Joy) going on a rampage in Game 3, registering five of his team’s 10 total kills to push AP.Bren to match point with a 13-minute conquest.
This set the stage for Nathanael “Nathzz” Estrologo (YuZhong) early-game exploits in Game 4, outplaying David “FlapTzy” Canon (Paquito) from the early game to help RSG score the equalizer.
By the 4th minute, he already had a 3-0-1 KDA tear that buoyed RSG to a comfortable win and forced a do-or-die Game 5.
KyleTzy then took over in the decider as he displayed a perfect performance on the Fanny pick and finished with a stellar 5-0-2 KDA to clinch the series.
RSG will now look to bounce back in a do-or-die showdown against defending champion Echo in the lower bracket semi-finals on Friday, October 27.
