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| Photo from MPL Philippines / Richard Esguerra |
by Drew Malihan
(EDITED) QUEZON CITY - The Land of Dawn is AP.Bren's world, and we're just living in it.
AP.Bren finally claim the coveted MPL Philippines championship as they outlasted Blacklist International, four games to one, in the Grand Finals of MPL Philippines Season 12 Sunday.
It was Blacklist's second loss against the Hive, as they swept the Codebreakers in the upper bracket semifinals, three games to none, after conceding two straight series in Season 12.
Marco "Super Marco" Requitiano's Brody became the thorn in Blacklist's side, getting four kills and four assists in a 9-2 Game 1 win, while Kyle "KyleTzy" Sayson's Dyrroth grabbed three kills and four assists while getting all the major objectives.
Kiel "Oheb" Soriano's Irithel scored the only two kills in 15 minutes, with Edward "Edward" Dapadap's Terizla became a nonj factor with a 0/1/0 KDA.
The Hive again limited the Codebreakers' kill count to two as Rowgien "Owgwen" Unigo scored three kills and assisted 11 while David Charles "FlapTzy" Canon's Phoveus registered 2/0/11 KDA while negating Stephen "Sensui" Castillo's Nolan, who only grabbed a single lord in 16 minutes.
Edward's Terizla again became APBR's primne target, with him being taken down five times while Renejay "Renejay" Barcase's Kaja only scored 0/3/2.
Blacklist International caught ECHO by surprise in Game 3 as Oheb's Ixia scored a near perfect game with 11 kills and two assists in a 13-1 domination of AP.Bren, as Sensui fielded a jungle Kaja and Renejay with the Mathilda.
However, AP.Bren made necessary adjustments despite Sensui showing a pocket Popol and Kupa pick, as Super Marco's Irithel showed a 7/2/6 performance to clinch the Hive their second championship.
A lord clash in the 20th minute spelled doom for the Blacklist quintet as despite getting a slight gold lead thanks to their double marksman setup, a conceal play from Owgwen's Ruby caught all but Renejay, resulting in a four-man takedown with only Edward escaping the fight and defend the base alone, with the rest of the Hive chasing him until his last stand.
With the win, AP.Bren will also get the lion's share of the prize pool as FlapTzy was named the Finals MVP of the series, while also getting his second MPL title alongside Coach Ducky, and captain Pheww getting his third MPL title.
Both AP.Bren and Blacklist will represent the Philippines in the M5 World Championships to be held in Manila.
Follow him on X: @drew_corner
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