Filipino imports Kenneth “Saxa” Fedelin and Deomark “Mikko” Tabangay, along with coach Ren “Pao” Villanueva, will be competing in the Wild Card Tournament, the last qualifier for the M5 World Championship, after helping Team SMG secure a runner-up finish in MPL Malaysia Season 12 on Sunday.
They lost to HomeBois in the grand finals but not before overcoming a 3-1 series deficit and forcing a Game 7.
Despite failing to clinch the championship in MPL MY, Team SMG will have a chance to secure one of the last two tickets to the global spectacle in the Wild Card Tournament scheduled from November 23 to 26 in Malaysia.
“Masarap sa feeling kasi hindi namin inaasahan na makakarating kami sa grand finals, lalo na’t malakas ‘yung kalaban namin sa lower bracket,” said Mikko about their runner-up finish.
“Mas paghahandaan namin ang M5 Wild Card, ibubuhos namin doon ang lahat.”
The Filipino duo led Team SMG to a second-place finish in the regular season, earning them a direct trip to the upper bracket semi-finals.
However, Team SMG stumbled against Selangor Red Giants, which featured Filipino head coach Michael Angelo “Arcadia” Bocado, former Blacklist International goldlaner Jon Redick “Super Red” Bordeos, and former Onic Philippines member Achie “Pancake” Guevarra, suffering a 2-0 sweep in the upper bracket semi-finals.
After surviving a tough 3-2 thriller over RSG Malaysia, led by Filipinos Jonard “Demonkite” Caranto and Dale “Stowm” Vidor, in the lower bracket semifinals, Team SMG avenged their upper bracket loss to the Red Giants with a resounding 3-2 victory in the lower-bracket finals, securing the last ticket to the title match.
Mikko was formerly a part of Smart Omega in the MPL Philippines and finished 5th-6th in both Season 10 and 11.
Saxa, on the other hand, made his debut in the MPL Philippines in Season 9 with Bren Esports before transferring to TNC Pro Team in Season 11.
