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| Liquid ID delivered the final say to Aurora's M6 stint. Moonton |
MANILA--NIP Flash head coach Joseph "Zarate" Yeo believed in an earlier interview that Aurora can go deep into M6 despite a 0-2 start to its campaign, even predicting they will be in the Final 4.
Team Liquid Indonesia, however, denied Aurora from even making the Final 8.
Liquid ID eliminated Aurora from M6 contention after a 2-0 sweep in their do-or-die Swiss stage series on Wednesday night at the IOI Grand Exhibition and Convention Center in Putrajaya, Malaysia.
Composure down the stretch mattered for Liquid ID as Aurora blew their early leads and eventually became the first Filipino team since Fnatic Onic Philippines in M1 to miss the knockout stages.
Game 1 seemed to be heading Aurora's way as the team went on a 6-1 run during the third turtle fight to take a 10-5 lead with more than a 1,600-gold lead ahead of the first lord.
However, Sultan "AeronnShikii" Muhammad came alive in the late game as his Granger scored all four kills in the first lord fight to help Liquid take the objective boss and turn things around.
He then hit two more kills in the game-deciding second lord fight as Liquid ID, despite letting Jonard "Demonkite" Caranto take the upgraded lord, went 3-0 in kills, setting up the Game 1 ending middle lane push.
Game 2 had Aurora taking control early on again with a 6-1 kill lead and a 4,000-gold lead before the first lord fight.
However, Liquid ID gradually dwindled that huge deficit away, and the turnaround was completed when Favian Putra's Suyou secured the third lord while completing a wipeout in the final push to seal the sweep.
"We just played our mid-to-late game because we always had late-game heroes," coach Dolly "Saint De Lucaz" Van Pelo said.
Liquid ID will next face Twisted Minds in the final round of the Swiss stages on Thursday night.
The winner will advance to the knockout phase.
On the other hand, Aurora will finish in 12th place as the "Northern Lights" will be turned off for now.
The development leaves Fnatic Onic PH as the only Filipino left in the running.
The other results had Vamos eliminating S2G via a 2-0 sweep and Selangor keeping its Golden Road hopes alive by downing Keep Best, 2-0.
Vamos will take on Blood Thirsty Kings, and Selangor will battle CFU next with the winners also booking the last ride to the Final 8.
Follow him on X: @IvanSaldajeno
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