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| Photo from MPL Philippines / Richard Esguerra |
by Drew Malihan
QUEZON CITY - AP.Bren clinched their upper bracket finals ticket following a close 3-2 encounter with former champion RSG Philippines to wrap up Day 2 of the MPL Philippines Season 12 playoffs Thursday.
This is the Hive's first win against the Raiders, who tormented them in the regular season, getting only one game win out of five played back in Week 1.
The road did not started well for APBR as RSG grabbed an early lead thanks to Eman "EMANN" Sangco's Wanwan who grabbed seven kills and seven assists in their 18-8 win, which lasted over 18 minutes, followed by a 3/1/10 performance from a midlane Angela pick from Arvie "Aqua" Antonio.
Kyle Angelo "KyleTzy" Sayson's surprise Karina pick, which was never drafted prior to their game, enjoyed three turtle takes but did not have much of an effect in the late game with only 3/6/4 KDA.
The Hive's jungler bounced back with an MVP performance in the second game as they outlasted RSG PH in the late game, registering six kills and two assists with the Joy while only falling once.
David Charles "FlapTzy" Canon's Arlott and captain Angelo "Pheww" Arcangel's pocket Phoveus pick did wonders as they negated any potential dives from John Darry "Irrad" Tuazon's Nolan, who did not have an easy time from the ninth minute as the two fighter heroes created plays to get them the equalizer.
AP.Bren clinched the third game to gain a 2-1 lead thanks to Rowgien "Owgwen" Unigo's roam Ruby pick, getting a kill and five total assists in a low-scoring 10-5 game in under 13 minutes.
Marco "Super Marco" Requitiano also had a great game for the Francis "Ducky" Glindro-led squad with three kills and one assist with the Irithel, while KyleTzy's Joy grabbed all the major objectives and not letting Irrad's Karina get a single lord or turtle.
Nathanael "Nathzz" Estrologo made up for a quiet third game as he grabbed the MVP nod in the fourth game, grabbing three kills and an assist with the Yu Zhong, while EMANN, Aqua, and Dylan "Light" Catipon all have flawless games with no deaths.
The Hive buzzed quietly as the Raiders forced a rubber match, with only Super Marco's Clint pick getting all two of APBR's kills against Light and Nathzz, while KyleTzy's Akai did not get his hands on a single turtle or lord take.
A jungle Guinevere pick for Irrad proved to be unsuccessful as AP.Bren sealed the deal in almost 18 minutes of the final game, with the Hive's skipper Pheww getting three kills and two assists with the Faramis.
KyleTzy also had a solid game with 5/0/2 KDA with the Fanny while only EMANN and Aqua scored kills for the Raiders, who found themselves lacking in damage to take down a much sustainable Bren lineup.
With the win, AP.Bren books a date with Blacklist International in the upper bracket finals, while RSG PH will face defending champs ECHO in a win-or-go-home five-game series on Friday.
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