Defending champions Team Liquid took care of business to keep their title defense alive in MPL Philippines Season 16.
Team Liquid continued on their quest to defend their title in MPL Philippines Season 16 as they shook off the rust and defeated Team Falcons, 3-1, in the play-ins at the Cuneta Astrodome on Wednesday, setting up a clash against familiar foes ONIC Philippines.
TLPH made sure to hit the ground running and nabbed the 2-0 lead, thanks to the heroics of gold laner Kiel “Oheb” Soriano’s key pickoffs in crucial moments of their first two games in the best-of-five series.
Even as Team Falcons pulled one back with Marco "Super Marco" Requitiano’s crucial triple kill in Game 3, they could only delay the inevitable.
In a toss-up Game 4, Team Liquid practiced patience and were able to turn the tides in the final lord of the game when the Cavalry not only got the objective, but further swung momentum with two pickoffs.
This opened up the opportunity for the defending champions to finish the job and seal their place in the next round.
TLPH thus sets up a crucial clash against ONIC who have had their number so far this season.
Team Liquid’s mental edge after having beaten ONIC Philippines in last season’s grand finals is all but forgotten with the Super Fam owning a 2-0 sweep of their regular season meetings in Season 16.
Smack in the middle of their best-of-seven series on Thursday is a midlane rivalry between Alston "Sanji" Pabico and Frince "Super Frince" Ramirez.
ONIC, the reigning world champions, stands in the way for Team Liquid's bid for the "golden road".
Red-hot RORA eyes Upper Bracket Final
In the other matchup on Thursday at the Cuneta Astrodome, a scalding hot Aurora Gaming team faces a veteran TNC Pro Team who will be eager to cut RORA down to size.
The TNC Pro Team marched on in the MPL Philippines Season 16 playoffs. | Photo: MPL Philippines
TNC is coming off of a thrilling win over Twisted Minds in the play-ins, 3-2, and are hopeful that momentum does them good against the league leaders who have yet to lose in 13 games. They last lost in their opening match of the regular season of Season 16 against Team Falcons.
Eyes will be on key matchups from both teams in what is expected to be an intriguing clash for the Upper Bracket Final.
Jan "Domeng" Delmundo battles Frederic "Bennyqt" Gonzales in a showdown between explosiveness and experience, while junglers Jonard "Demonkite" Caranto and Justine "Zaida" Palma also present a key area for battle.
Momentum and a clearer path to M7 and the finals will be at stake when the Upper Bracket Semifinals begin Thursday afternoon. First match between TLPH and ONIC kicks off at 3pm before RORA and TNC close out the day at 7 p.m. at the Cuneta Astrodome.
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Luisa Morales is a sports writer with a special interest in promoting women’s sports.
Her coverage highlights include the UAAP, PVL, Southeast Asian Games, and the FIBA World Cup. She also follows Alex Eala, the Philippine women’s national football team, and mixed martial arts.