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| Photo from MPL Philippines / Richard Esguerra |
by Drew Malihan
QUEZON CITY - Angelo "Pheww" Arcangel, David Charles "FlapTzy" Canon, and Coach Francis "Ducky" Glindro endured a hard reset, rebuild, and teammates come and go in Makati after their triumph in the M2 World Championships.
Three years and six seasons after, they are now back in the world stage as the team's veterans along with up-and-coming talent.
AP.Bren scores an M5 World Championship ticket after sweeping third-seeded Blacklist International in the upper bracket finals of the MPL Philippines Season 12 playoffs Friday.
It was the first victory of the squad this season against Blacklist after getting a 0-2 regular season series sweep, and their first win against them since April 14.
The Hive make quick work of the Agents thanks to a 14 minute dominant showing, 10-3, with FlapTzy's Terizla assisting in all but one kill, including several sets against Stephen "Sensui" Castillo's Barats pick.
Rowgien "Owgwen" Unigo's Mathilda also have a stellar Game 1 with 2/0/7 KDA, while Kiel "Oheb" Soriano's Bruno was a non-factor, registering a quiet 0/0/0 KDA.
The renowned roamer grabbed Edith and have an MVP performance of two kills and eight assists in the second game to give AP.Bren a comfortable 2-0 lead.
Pheww's midlane Faramis also did wonders for the Hive, getting a kill and 10 assists in 18 minutes, while Edward "Edward" Dapadap did not have the best of days as his Terizla only grabbed an assist while falling down four times.
AP.Bren needed 22 minutes more in the third game to seal the deal despite a newfound aggression from Blacklist who lead in kills, 10-6, but grabbed three of four lords of the game.
Despite being prime target by the Agents, Kyle "KyleTzy" Sayson's Nolan took the MVP nod as he tallied three kills and three assisrs in the final game.
Renejay "Renejay" Barcase's Rafaela and Kenneth "Yue" Tadeo's Faramis's double healer strategy did not go as planned as the damage from AP.Bren in the late game was too much to handle for main damage dealers Sensui and Oheb.
With the win, AP.Bren also locked a Grand Finals seat, while Blacklist will be waiting in the lower bracket finals for another shot at the Finals seat as well as the M5 slot.
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