ONIC Philippines remained unbeaten and climbed to the top of the team standings, while Team Liquid PH suffered their second loss of MPL PH Season 16—contrasting results for last season’s finalists.
The Sonics are sounding off, and the rest of the MPL Philippines might want to take notice.
ONIC Philippines took care of business, scoring another sweep—this time against AP.Bren—for their second straight win in MPL Philippines Season 16.
Duane “Kelra” Pillas and Jann “Kirk” Gutierrez combined forces to put the Super Family atop the team standings. Though they share a 2-0 record with Twisted Minds PH, ONIC’s back-to-back shutouts set them apart early.
Kirk set the tone in Game 1, racking up back-to-back double kills that led to a strong 4-0-1 KDA on Phoveus in the opening minutes.
The 20-year-old EXP laner didn’t let up, finishing the 11-minute game with a flawless 8-0-5 KDA and leaving AP.Bren scrambling.
Kelra carried the momentum into Game 2, delivering a near-perfect 7-1-2 KDA on Harith to seal ONIC’s second consecutive sweep and mark their first winning streak of the season.
“Maganda 'yung performance ng team. Rinig na rinig na enjoy nila 'yung laro kanina and maganda 'yung mga connection so overall, I’m very happy naman,” ONIC head coach Tony “Ynot” Senedrin said in the post-game press conference.
ONIC PH now turns its focus to Aurora Gaming, while AP.Bren, who dropped to 1-2, aim to bounce back against the still win-seeking TNC Pro Team.
Aurora Gaming, meanwhile, completed a 2-1 stunner against defending champion Team Liquid PH in the main event.
After splitting the first two games, Kenneth "Yue" Tadeo came through in the clutch, landing a pinpoint Astral Echo and Recall combo to cap a dramatic 26-minute decider.
The win gave Aurora its first taste of victory this season and improved to 1-1, while dropping TLPH to sixth place at 1-2.
Despite the shocker, head coach Aniel “Master the Basics” Jiandani knows RORA still has growing pains—none bigger than learning how to protect the leads they’ve already coughed up twice this young season.
“Isa 'yun sa mga inaayos pa namin dahil nga unti-unti 'yung growth ng team kasi may mga kailangan pa kaming i-adjust at i-apply. Isa 'yun sa mga kailangan pa naming maayos para mas maging malinis, lalo na 'yung pagtatapos namin ng game,” Jiandani said.
Meanwhile, Team Liquid PH aims to bounce back when the defending MSC titleholders take on the unbeaten Twisted Minds PH squad tomorrow at 7:30 p.m.