By: Arjohn Roxas
Team Falcons saved their best for last, clinching a playoff spot after denying Team Liquid Philippines’ reverse sweep, 2-1, in the final week of the MPL Philippines Season 16 on Saturday at the Green Sun Hotel in Makati.
The victory propelled Team Falcons to sixth place with a 5-9 record, edging out Smart Omega via head-to-head tiebreaker while also dashing Team Liquid’s upper bracket hopes.
Team Falcons head coach Robert “Trebor” Sanchez shared that the team’s mindset was all about staying positive and believing in themselves heading into the crucial match.
“Sobrang good vibes lang, parang sabi nila, ‘Tao lang din yan, kaya natin talunin yan,’” Trebor said. “Tapos nagpalakas din siguro sa boost namin nung natalo yung Omega, kaya nasa amin na yung bola na ipapanalo namin para playoffs, di na kami aasa sa iba.”
In Game 1, Kyle “KyleTzy” Sayson (Yi Sun Shin) played the hero as he capitalized on Team Liquid’s overextension during their potential game-ending Lord siege, outplaying Karl “KarlTzy” Nepomuceno (Lancelot) to gain control of the fourth Lord.
He then landed a decisive Mountain Shocker on Kiel “Oheb” Soriano (Harith), triggering a 4-for-1 wipeout that sealed the 24-minute win for Team Falcons.
In Game 2, Team Liquid took control through skirmishes in the top and mid lanes, with Oheb’s (Wanwan) Crossbow of Tang opening up the mid tower and suffocating Team Falcons’ jungle. This allowed Team Liquid to secure the first Lord at the 11-minute mark and build a 5k gold lead.
The Cavalry never looked back, ballooning their advantage to nearly 8k by the 12-minute mark to force a rubber match.
In the decider, KyleTzy (Lancelot) secured the first Lord objective, but Team Liquid countered with a 3-for-1 exchange that nullified the push.
However, after Team Falcons secured the third Lord and broke through the mid inhibitor, a perfectly timed Divine Judgment from Rowgien “Owgwen” Unigo (Kaja) caught Sanford “Sanford” Vinuya (Lapu-Lapu), sealing the 21-minute victory for Team Falcons.
With the win, Team Falcons advance to the play-ins of the MPL Philippines Season 16 playoffs on October 22 at the Cuneta Astrodome.
