Dominant Fnatic ONIC Philippines edges Aurora to rule MPL Philippines

MANILA, Philippines — Fnatic ONIC Philippines completed a dominant Season 14 run, capturing its first Mobile Legends Professional League (MPL) Philippines crown after defeating debut team Aurora, 4-3, in the grand finals Sunday at the Green Sun Hotel, Makati City.

Fnatic ONIC Philippines had a historic season run, breaking the league's longest winning streak record by bagging 13 straight matches, only losing its last regular season match-up against Smart Omega. Meanwhile, Aurora, which made its season debut, shut down doubters by climbing through the lower brackets to book a ticket to the grand finals.

Aurora opened the finals matchup with an aggressive strategy, which Fnatic ONIC Philippines answered back with clever map rotations, picking off key players during objective takes to secure the first game.

The same story was seen in Game 2 as Aurora led in the early game, but Fnatic ONIC Philippines once again punished the opposing team during objective takes and secured the game with a segue play. While all eyes were on the third lord, jungler King "K1NGKONG" Perez dashed to the base to propel his team to a 2-0 lead.

Game 3 saw Fnatic ONIC Philippines take the driver seat as it commanded the early game, but a miscall by the second lord saw Aurora turn the tide and prevent the sweep. The Sonics punished the Auroras in Game 4 with a 17-5 score, holding the gold lead for the entire 15-minute, 40-second match.

At match point, Fnatic ONIC Philippines had complete control of the game, but the team’s impatience to end the series was punished by Aurora as it mounted a solid defence against the Sonics during the base siege to prolong the series. By the third lord, Aurora took down three players from the side of Fnatic ONIC Philippines. Even as minions started working on their base, Aurora was able to destroy the towers in the midlane all the way to the base to stay alive in the matchup.

Game 6 was deja-vu of the previous one as Fnatic ONIC Philippines led the early game, a costly mistake by the lord saw Aurora force a decider as they tied the series 3-3.

From a best-of-seven to a best-of-one, the close series would close on a crucial team fight as Aurora tried to close out the series only for their aggression to be their downfall as Fnatic ONIC Philippines mounted a solid defense that turned to offense to secure their first ever championship title.

The finals enjoyed the highest peak viewership at 1.5 million views, breaking the previous record of 1.4 million during the Season 7 finals when Blacklist International survived Execration, 4-3.

Both Fnatic ONIC Philippines and Aurora will represent the Philippines in the coming M6 World Championship happening in Malaysia this December.