After back-to-back first-round exits, ECHO finally scored its first-ever playoff victory in franchise history at the expense of defending champion RSG PH on Friday afternoon.
ECHO completed a split push attempt in Game Four to close out the series at 3-1 and send the reigning MSC champion down the lower bracket.
Head coach Archie “Tictac” Reyes, who came in as an assistant coach to former head coach Michael “Arcadia” Bocado in the previous season, was elated to finally see his wards get over the hump.
“Yun nga, sobrang saya namin kasi nga sabi nga natin, first win ng ECHO dito sa playoffs, ‘di ba? Dalawang season kaming early exit so ito napakalaking bagay sa amin ‘tong win,” said a teary-eyed Tictac during the post-match press conference.
Back in Season Eight, the Christian “Rafflesia” Fajura-led ECHO bowed out of the first round after suffering a 1-3 loss at the hands of Omega Esports.
The expectations got much higher in Season Nine after the organization acquired the likes of Karl “KarlTzy” Nepomuceno, Tristan “Yawi” Cabrera, and Frediemar “3MarTzy” Serafico, who they paired with Benedict “Bennyqt” Gonzales and Jankurt “KurTzy” Matira.
Unfortunately, the team failed to live up to expectations after getting swept by eventual grand finalist Omega Esports anew in the first round of the playoffs.
In Season 10, after implementing a two-team strategy, the second-ranked ECHO finally got over got past the opening round by securing an outright spot in the upper bracket semis which then translated into a 3-1 win over RSG PH en route to the upper bracket finals.
Tictac said that getting their first win against the defending champions, who hold a three-game winning streak against them dating back to Season Nine, is definitely a huge confidence booster for the young ECHO squad ahead of their upper bracket finals clash against the winner of the Blacklist International-Bren Esports series.
“Syempre boost ‘to sa mental ng mga bata saka ng team,” the former Liyab Esports team manager.
“One win na lang talaga, one win na lang matutupad na yung mga dreams ng mga bata na makalaro international.”
