Minana Evos pulled off a crucial 2-0 sweep of Echo to keep their playoff hopes alive, earning their fifth win in the final week of the Mobile Legends: Bang Bang Professional League (MPL) Philippines Season 12 at the Shooting Gallery Studios, Makati City on Friday.
Minana (5-8) temporarily surpassed Onic Philippines (5-6) and Smart Omega (5-6) to claim the fifth spot with 16 points. Onic PH and Omega are currently tied for sixth place with 15 points.
Even Minana jungler Ken Louie “KzenAR” Pile (Fredrinn) was surprised with their win over Echo who has been on a tear this season before they stumbled to a 2-0 loss at the hands of RSG Philippines in Week 5.
“Unexpected po talaga yung performance namin kanina kasi alam naman nating world champion yung kalaban namin. Nagulat din po ako sa pinakita namin pero sobrang pinaghirapan namin yun before yung match. Nagsiscrim talaga kami nang sobra,” he said.
In Game 1, Minana survived a challenging 25-minute encounter against Echo after Brian Miles “Spider-MilezAR” Santos’ (Floryn) Bloom, during a 23rd-minute skirmish, provided Minana with the necessary sustain to fend off Echo’s aggression and secure a 2-0 victory.
After Ken Louie “KzenAR” Pile (Fredrinn) secured the evolved lord, Jhon Marl “Lord JMAR” Sebastian (Terizla) caught Frederic “Bennyqt” Gonzales (Wanwan) with the Penalty Zone, enabling Minana to initiate a successful base turret siege, leading 1-0.
In Game 2, Minana completed the sweep by coming out on top in a 14th-minute lord fight with a 3-1 trade-off on Jan “DomengAR” Delmundo’s (Ixia) solid Full Barrage execution.
Echo is now facing their second consecutive loss, both via sweeps, after an 11-game win streak to start the season. They still lead the standings with 29 points and only need one more game win to secure the top seed heading into the playoffs.
