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| HAIL THE NEW GPL KINGS: Ascension Gaming (ASC) hoists the GPL trophy as they defeated Kuala Lumpur Hunters to win the 2018 GPL Spring. |
By Ozzy Alaba
MANILA -- After their 2017 Summer heartbreak, the Thais have finally quenched their thirst for a GPL championship.
The Philippines, otherwise, in spite of their loss against the former will get a consolation as well.
Thai powerhouse Ascension Gaming (ASC) ultimately ended their longing in bagging a GPL trophy while the Philippine kings Mineski (MSK) concluded their campaign with a bang after trampling their respective opponents in the 2018 Garena Premier League (GPL) Spring Finals and 3rd Place Match at the Bangkok International Trade and Exhibition Center eSports studio on Sunday (Philippine time).
Having been reverse swept in the 2017 GPL Summer Playoffs - World Championship Qualifying Match by Young Generation, 3-2, ASC didn't let that bother into them, but instead, flashed their best performance in the current season so far, letting their jungler Sanpett Murat and mid laner Nuttapong Menkasikan shine to crush Malaysia's Kuala Lumpur Hunters (KLH), 3-1 in the Finals.
With this, Murat and Menkasikan, also known as InTreso and G4 spearheaded the six-man all-Thai squad's onslaught, garnering a combined 4.92 Kill-Death-Assist (KDA) Ratio (28/18/41 KDA), highlighting Murat's individual game-high 9.25 KDA Ratio (12/4/25 KDA) with his Sejuani, Jax, and Skarner and Menkasikan's brilliant showing on Kassadin in the final match of the series.
ASC's resident AD Carry Juckkirsts Kongubon (Lloyd) also helped in carrying his team to victory as his Caitlyn, Varus and Xayah provided burst damage for them, letting him bag an 11/10/20 KDA (3.1 KDA Ratio) in the end of the four-game run.
Sophomore top laner Atit Phaomuang (Rockky) and support Warich Kittiwattanawong (Rich) also provided quality minutes for the Thai squad as their utility and high-pressure picks proved to be a thorn on the opposition, leading ASC in the assists department with 50 merged assists, and in the kill participation (KP) side with a combined 70.58 percent KP in the entire series.
Meanwhile, KLH's veteran jungler Eric Sia (QaspieL) and mid laner Chan Roong Han (ArrHedge), as usual, paced the Malaysian's road, heading them with a combined 4.44 KDA Ratio (22/18/58 KDA), alongside with temporary AD Carry Poon Kok Sin (OzoraVeki), who co-lead them in kills with 16 (Chan with 16 also).
Furthermore, MSK ended their 2018 GPL Spring campaign on a high note after sweeping Singapore's Sovereign (SVR) in a fast-paced manner, 3-0 with their Korean imports Kwon Jun-seok (Jjun) and Bae Yong-jun (Gari) leading the six-man Filipino roster once again to clinch the last ticket to the 2018 Rift Rivals.
Bae and Kwon, as usual, displayed their consistency despite losing shockingly to KLH in the semifinals, 3-1 as they, with the help of veteran support Gerald Gelacio (Tgee)'s tanky support picks dumped SVR's carries in the entire series, letting Bae lead the team in kills (33 total kills) and Gelacio head the assists and kill participation department with 52 combined assists and a whopping 76.38 percent KP in the end.
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| SPORTSMANSHIP: Mineski's (gray and black jacket) top laner Jon Lance Hernandez hugs fellow counterpart (black jacket) Tan Yew Ming after their series, where Mineski sweeps the Singapore champions Sovereign, 3-0. |
Bae and Kwon, as usual, displayed their consistency despite losing shockingly to KLH in the semifinals, 3-1 as they, with the help of veteran support Gerald Gelacio (Tgee)'s tanky support picks dumped SVR's carries in the entire series, letting Bae lead the team in kills (33 total kills) and Gelacio head the assists and kill participation department with 52 combined assists and a whopping 76.38 percent KP in the end.
Nevertheless, even though losing through a stomping sweep, SVR's substitute Jordan Lum (Suoh) still stepped up in his substitution to resident jungler Tay Leong Jie (IceDestiny), amassing a combined team-high 3.8 KDA Ratio (3/5/16 KDA), alongside with AD Carry Martin Lew (Mexi), who finished the series with a decent 6/12/16 KDA (1.83 KDA Ratio).
With their win, ASC will represent Southeast Asia in the upcoming 2018 Mid Season Invitational in Germany and will also grab the first seed going to the 2018 Rift Rivals, alongside with KLH, who automatically gets the second seed.
MSK, on the other hand, with the victory will join the two mentioned teams in their quest in the said tournament.
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