By: George Torno
Team Liquid PH sent ONIC Philippines to the lower bracket with a commanding 3-0 sweep in the upper bracket semifinals of the MPL Philippines Season 16 Playoffs on Thursday at the Cuneta Astrodome.
It was a dominant all-around effort for Team Liquid in the tilt.
Head coach Rodel “Ar Sy” Cruz admitted he was surprised by the team’s dominant showing, especially against a powerhouse like ONIC PH.
“Sobrang iba talaga yung players ko ngayong playoffs, hindi ko ine-expect lahat yun. Unexpected talaga naging performance ng mga players ko since kahapon,” he said.
Karl “KarlTzy” Nepomuceno spearheaded the effort, earning Game MVP honors in both Game 1 and Game 3 with a masterful performance on the Lancelot.
In Game 1, Team Liquid PH set the pace early. KarlTzy’s Yi-Sun-Shin dominated the map, securing all turtle objectives while assisting Sanford “Sanford” Vinuya’s Phoveus in the EXP lane to counter a challenging matchup against Jann “Kirk” Guiterrez’s Cici.
By the 12th minute, KarlTzy’s aggressive plays stifled ONIC’s advances, allowing Team Liquid to claim every Lord objective uncontested.
Following the Lord siege, KarlTzy executed a perfectly timed Mountain Shocker on Borris “Brusko” Parro’s Hylos, breaking ONIC’s defenses and clinching the first win of the series.
Game 2 saw the Cavalry maintain their trademark aggression, leveraging the San-San duo to consistently set up KarlTzy for finishing blows.
Their relentless pressure earned a 5k gold lead by the eight-minute mark. Riding this momentum, Team Liquid captured the first Lord and pushed down the bottom lane by the 10-minute mark.
Jaypee “Jaypee” Dela Cruz’s Khaleed landed a perfectly timed Flicker-Raging Sandstorm on three ONIC members, resulting in a decisive 4-for-1 trade that sealed the match point for Team Liquid.
The decider featured a tense 19-minute Lord battle, where combined efforts from Sanford (Alice) and Kiel “Oheb” Soriano (Claude) eliminated King “K1NGKONG” Perez’s Yi-Sun-Shin, translating into a free Lord for Team Liquid.
They followed it up with a dominant Lord siege that secured the series sweep.
Team Liquid now awaits the winner of the Aurora-TNC match.
The UB semis will take place on Friday.
