Entering the MPL Philippines Season 10, no one really expected anything from the rookie-laden ONIC PH.
After all, the organization brought in an amateur squad to replace its Season Nine roster that already made two consecutive finals appearances in the MPL Philippines Season Eight and the M3 World Championships over the past year.
Still, the Monster Anarchy core embraced the challenge and took it head on – winning five of their first six matches to announce their entry into the MPL scene.
On Sunday night, ONIC PH proved that its dream start was no fluke after becoming the first team to make it into the playoffs – almost a month after everyone counted them out even before they played their first game in the tournament.
And they did it by asserting their mastery over defending champion RSG PH, 2-0, which helped them complete a sweep of their regular season matchup.
ONIC PH team captain Ralph “Rapidoot” Adrales said that the team never really expected this to begin with. In fact, coming from the amateur scene, they just made sure to relish the opportunity to go up against the best of the best in the MPL Philippines.
“Wala eh, parang lahat kami pare-parehas yung nafe-feel. Hindi naman talaga namin inexpect ng lahat ‘to, ang iniisip lang namin makakapalag po kami sa mga teams sa season na ito kaya malaking bagay po talaga,” Rapidoot told Tiebreaker Times.
“Sa tingin ko yung nakakagulat lang din sa amin dahil bilang dati kami amateur, nakita namin po ung diperensya po talaga at parati kaming masaya dahil masarap kumalaban ng malakas,” he added.
The job, though, is not yet done as they are set to face Blacklist International and Omega Esports in two consecutive days next week before capping off the regular season against TNC on October 8.
And Rapidoot vowed that they will not be complacent as they remain focused on their goal of winning the Season 10 championship.
