Photo from Moonton |
by Drew Malihan
PHNOM PENH - MPL Philippines Season 11 and current world champions Echo settles for third place as overturn a 2-1 series deficit against home team Burn x Flash inside the AEON Mall to close Day 3 of the playoffs.
It was a long day for the Orcas as they went into the third place battle an hour after MPL Indonesia champs ONIC Esports dealt them a 0-3 heartbreak earlier.
Benedict "Bennyqt" Gonzales said otherwise as they drew first blood against the Cambodian side with an 18-5 dominance, Gonzales's Harith takes the MVP nod with a 10/0/4 showing.
His BXF counterpart Mariusz "Donut" Tan had other ideas and led the home side take Game 2 with a 6/1/2 KDA on his Brody despite being behind in the early game.
The Cambodian champions continued their momentum in the third game as they battled a close one with the Orcas, with Ty "D7" Oudom leading the charge while fielding a Blacklist-esque lineup with Estes, Barats, and Valentina bossing the jungle and midlanes.
D7's 0/2/12 performance was enough for his team as they secured the third game, 17 kills to Echo's 15.
Tristan "Yawi" Cabrera then led the Orcas in a decisive Game 4 and made several crucial plays with his Khufra including a two-man knock-off in the 16th minute capped by Alston "Sanji" Pabico's Real World Manipulation with the Yve to put three Burn x Flash players down.
The Orcas went straight to the base with only Donut to defend and forced a Game 5 with Yawi's 1/3/10 performance leading the pack.
The former Nexplay player showed his value to the team where he gets another MVP performance with the Khufra in Game 5, a 14-3 domination over the Cambodian side.
Yawi and the rest of Echo sealed the deal as he had a three-man set under BXF's inhibitor turret, which Sanji and Bennyqt converted into two kills and forcing the home team to defend to no avail.
Echo secured USD 30,000 in the bag, while Burn x Flash will take home USD 15,000 in prize money.
Follow him on Twitter: @drew_corner