ECHO secures 10th win with rout of Smart Omega

Photo from MPL Philippines

by Drew Malihan

MAKATI - Defending champions ECHO showeed their dominance in the MPL Philippines Season 12 once again as they sweep Smart Omega to extend their unbeaten run to 10 games on Friday.

It was a repeat performance for the ECHO quintet as Omega succumbs to another 2-0 the last time they met in Week 2 of the regular season, with Benedict "Bennyqt" Gonzales leading the charge.

Omega however has put Ron Matthew "Matt_" Papag in the starting jungler role, who was recently promoted from the team's MDL side, in place of Andrew "Andoryuuu" Flora who was sent to the developmental league.

The switch did not shook the Orcas as they executed a 20-4 domination over the Barangay, with veteran Jaypee "Jaypee" dela Cruz leading the way with a perfect 3/0/17 performance from the Mathilda, while Alston "Sanji" Pabico tallied five kills and 13 assists with the Novaria.

Smart Omega has grabbed more lord takes than ECHO in the series, including a steal in the 17th minute, but the last take became fatal as the lack of late-game potential and magic damage hurted the Barangay, with the takedown to Patrick "E2MAX" Caidic's Kadita starting the end.

ECHO repeated their dominance in the second game as they finished Smart Omega, 19 kills to just six, with Sanji's Kadita getting the MVP nod with five kills and nine assists, while only falling once.

The Orcas mainly focused on their early to mid-game spike, limiting Duane "Kelra" Pillas' Brody's chances of a late-game comeback with five deaths to his name, while the rest of the Barangay can only take one turtle in the major objectives.

Sanford "Sanford" Vinuya meanwhile registered 2/0/12 with the Gloo as Karl "KarlTzy" Nepomuceno's signature Lancelot dealt eight kills and assisted six.

With the win, ECHO grabbed all three points and solidified themselves into the upper bracket race with 27 points, while Smart Omega sinks to 4-6 with just 12 points in the bag.

ECHO will see themselves going for win number 11 against eight-seeded TNC Pro Team tomorrow, with hopes of clinching the upper bracket spot on the horizon.

Smart Omega meanwhile will see the Phoenix Army on Sunday.

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