PHNOM PENH – ONIC Esports stunned ECHO, delivering a surprising 3-0 sweep over the reigning world champions, thus securing their qualification for the 2023 Mobile Legends: Bang Bang Southeast Asia Cup grand finals at the Aeon Mall Mean Chey here on Saturday.
Kairi “Kairi” Rayosdelsol will face his former team, Blacklist International, in the grand finals tomorrow, which is set to take place on Saturday at 7:00 p.m.
“Actually, we weren’t expecting this… I mean, we participate in every tournament, and our sole goal is to win,” said ONIC Esports head coach Denver “Yeb” Miranda.
The Filipino jungler made a strong start in the series, leading ONIC Esports to a closely contested 17-minute victory in Game One. He accumulated five kills and two assists with only one death while playing as Fanny, allowing the Indonesian squad to draw first blood in the series.
In the second match, Muhammad “Butsss” Sanubari’s Masha stole the show as he consistently disrupted ECHO’s backline, resulting in a 14-7 win in just 12 minutes of gameplay.
With a grand finals slot at stake, ONIC Esports survived a marathon Game 3, playing from behind throughout the match. However, they secured a game-winning wipe late in the game to complete the sweep.
Nicky “Kiboy” Fernando’s exceptional playmaking as Khufra earned him the Match MVP title. He delivered a game-high 19 assists and contributed two kills, despite facing four deaths.
ECHO aimed to secure their third consecutive title after winning the M4 World Championship and the MPL Philippines Season 11. However, they were unable to repeat their success against ONIC Esports, a team they defeated in the world tournament last January.
The reigning world champions will face hometown contender Burn X Flash later in the day in the battle for third place.
