ONIC Philippines stumbled in their opening match of the MLBB Mid Season Cup 2025, falling 1-2 to Aurora Türkiye in the group stage on Thursday in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia.
With the loss, ONIC is now in a must-win situation—another defeat would result in outright elimination. The team must win their next two matches to secure a spot in the playoff round.
Aurora Türkiye set the tone early, dominating Game 1 with a swift 14-minute victory, led by Sidar “Tienzy” Menteşe’s flawless 13-0-6 KDA performance on Lancelot.
ONIC bounced back in Game 2 with a commanding response, dictating the pace from the early game and securing all but one turtle buff. By the 10th minute, they had built a 3,600 gold lead.
Despite ONIC’s momentum, Aurora managed to hold the line, fending off several attempts to close out the game. It wasn’t until the 19th minute that ONIC pulled off three unanswered pickoffs to finally force a Game 3 decider.
However, disaster struck in the final game. ONIC squandered a sizable 8,000 gold lead by the 12th minute, losing control of the match.
Furkan “APEX47” Akbulut (Gatotkaca) emerged as the hero for Aurora. His perfectly timed Avatar of the Guardian during the 20th-minute lord fight triggered a game-winning three-for-none pickoff, sealing the comeback and the series win for the Turkish squad.
ONIC Philippines will next face North America’s Area 77, where a victory will put them one step closer to a playoff berth.
