Team Falcons PH kept their playoff hopes alive after stunning ONIC Philippines, 2-1, in Week 7 of the MPL Philippines on Friday at the Green Sun Hotel in Makati City.
The victory allowed the M5 world champions to improve to 3-9, moving closer to TNC Pro Team (4-6) and AP.Bren (4-6) in the battle for the final playoff spot.
Assistant coach Moody “Moody” Samal expressed his delight after finally seeing his team perform at the level they have demonstrated in scrims but struggled to show in official matches.
“Siguro ito na rin yung pina-practice namin for the past two weeks. Kung ano yung pinakita nila playstyle, nag-reflect lang. Kahit nung Game 2, kahit talo kami, malaki sana yung chance na makuha namin yun,” said Moody on Team Falcons’ monumental win against the reigning M-series world champions.
After trailing for much of the early stages of Game 1, Team Falcons mounted a comeback. Rowgien “Owgwen” Unigo’s (Franco) Iron Hooks connected back-to-back in the 9th minute, scoring pickoffs and securing the first lord objective of the match.
Owgwen struck again with consecutive Iron Hooks in the 12th minute, setting up Marco “Super Marco” Requitiano (Granger) for a double kill, as Team Falcons maintained control en route to a 1-0 lead.
In Game 2, Team Falcons looked poised for a sweep, taking command in the midgame.
However, Kirk “Kirk” Guttierez (Arlott) executed a blind Flicker + Final Slash combo, resulting in a 4-for-3 exchange.
This opened the door for King “K1NGKONG” Perez (Yi Sun-Shin) to secure the lord objective and even the series.
In the decisive Game 3, Kyle “KyleTzy” Sayson’s (Yi Sun-Shin) late double kill during a 21st-minute initiation helped Team Falcons survive and clinch their third win.
Team Falcons PH will next face AP.Bren on Sunday, October 5, in another do-or-die matchup.
