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| Let's bow down to "King Jaypee" and Team Liquid Philippines for a sensational Week 4. Richard Esguerra (file photo) |
ONE round of MPL Philippines regular season action is officially in the books, and from having a very wild scenario three matches in for each team, the playoff picture is somehow beginning to take shape.
So who reigned supreme this past week and who had to bite some dust? Here's the power rankings update.
Imba of the Week: Team Liquid Philippines (5-2, 2-0 this week)
Aurora Philippines, Team Liquid Philippines, and Onic Philippines, the top three teams in the standings at the moment, all went 2-0 this past week, with identical 4-1 aggregate scores.
However, my Imba of the Week for Week 4 is Liquid PH for a very special reason.
As revealed by coach Rodel "Arsy" Cruz after their dominant win against AP Bren on Sunday night, Kiel "Oheb" Soriano had a "flu week" this past week.
However, knowing how important his role is, especially last season in his team's MPL PH and MSC title runs, Soriano did a Michael Jordan-esque performance to lead Liquid PH to a Week 4 sweep.
Not to be overshadowed by this is Jaypee Dela Cruz overtaking Johnmar "OhMyV33nus" Villaluna for fourth place in the MPL PH's all-time assists list.
Dela Cruz celebrated the career milestone by imitating Villaluna's iconic crowning pose that earned approval from the "queen" herself.
These deserve some props.
Anlala of the Week: AP Bren (2-5, 0-2 this week)
Needless to say, this was not AP Bren's week.
Having to play top contenders to end the first round, AP Bren suffered back-to-back 0-2 defeats to league-leading Aurora PH and Liquid PH, featuring a not-100-percent Soriano.
Luckily for AP Bren, they're tied with Smart Omega at 2-5, although the latter owns the tiebreaker for sixth place due to a better game-win difference.
All is not yet lost for AP Bren.
Lason of the Week: TNC (beat Twisted Minds Philippines, 2-1)
Twisted Minds Philippines has been the overachiever so far this MPL PH season, as evidenced by the two times I gave them the tag "Lason of the Week".
However, that also means any win by a team many fans now believe Twisted Minds Philippines can manhandle can be considered a "lason".
And that happened on Saturday night when TNC pulled off a stunner against Twisted Minds PH.
Well, it went three games, but TNC's veteran smarts overpowered the youthful energy of Twisted Minds PH in the end.
The entire Saturday tripleheader, though, could have gone either way, so I also considered the possibility of either Smart Omega stunning Aurora PH or Team Falcons Philippines pulling off a huge win against longtime rival Liquid PH being the upset of the week.
MPL Philippines Season 16 Power Rankings
8. Team Falcons Philippines (1-6)
Falcons PH stays at the bottom of the MPL PH standings and my power rankings at the end of the first round, but it had its chances against Liquid PH in its lone Week 4 match.
Forcing a Game 3, Falcons PH had an early lead in the decider and looked poised to really deal what we can now call an upset.
However, Liquid PH showed championship poise down the stretch to overcome the sluggish Game 3 start.
Falcons PH begins Week 5 with the only team it has beaten so far, Aurora PH.
7. AP Bren (2-5)
AP Bren dropped two spots in the power rankings, no thanks to a 0-4 aggregate score this past week, although, like I said, they had to deal with title contenders.
AP Bren's Saturday clash against Smart Omega, however, could have huge implications in the race for the sixth seed, as the winner could gain an upper hand if the tiebreaker goes to the head-to-head results.
Take note: AP Bren beat Smart Omega in their first round meeting.
Another thing: Coach Jeff Manforte said that AP Bren has been gearing up already for the second round by doing practice scrimmages in the advanced server in anticipation of the new patch coming on Wednesday.
6. Smart Omega (2-5)
Despite also going 0-2 this past week, Smart Omega pushing Aurora PH to a Game 3 should still be an encouraging sign, especially when it battles AP Bren again.
Smart Omega begins Week 5 with a showdown against TNC, which could also have playoff bearings.
5. Twisted Minds Philippines (4-3)
How come Twisted Minds Philippines, despite being in fourth place right now, is number five in my power rankings?
Partly because the upset against TNC in its lone Week 4 match would still sting.
In the bigger picture, however, Twisted Minds PH lost three of its last four games to end the first round after a colossal 3-0 start.
Twisted Minds PH will play Falcons PH and AP Bren again to start Round 2, but with a new patch coming up, we can't say if they can go 2-0 again next weekend.
4. TNC (3-4)
Pulling off a stunner against Twisted Minds PH and pushing Onic PH to the limit a night later should be enough for TNC to be in the upper half of my power rankings.
TNC will play Smart Omega again in hopes of boosting its late dash to a better playoff seeding before taking on Liquid PH.
A potential plot twist: a possibility of Robert "Finding Hito" Candoy getting activated against Smart Omega.
3. Onic Philippines (5-2)
Nowee "Ryota" Macasa reintroduced himself to the MPL Philippines community by giving Kirk Gutierrez a well-deserved Week 4 rest and still providing the needed EXP lane muscle for Onic PH to go 2-0 this week.
Week 5, just like Week 1, is a bye week for Onic PH, but its lone match against Liquid PH could play a huge role in determining which team would eventually get a first-round bye in the postseason.
With Soriano expected to be back at 100 percent and Gutierrez likely getting reactivated, brace for some war in this Season 15 finals rematch.
2. Team Liquid Philippines (5-2)
Playing brilliantly despite the flu week goes to show why Soriano is among the most feared gold laners in global MLBB play.
As aforementioned, though, Soriano should have recovered already when Liquid PH faces off against Onic PH in a showdown that could have major playoff positioning stipulations.
Expect Liquid PH to be at its true A-game again this coming weekend.
1. Aurora Philippines (6-1)
Aurora PH remains on top of the power rankings thanks to a 2-0 week, although TNC gave them a scare.
Week 5 is also a bye week for Aurora PH, but first things first: get back at Falcons PH, the lone team that beat them so far this season.
The views and opinions of the writer do not necessarily reflect those of Dugout Philippines.
