KUALA LUMPUR, Malaysia — From “Kingslayers” to the “Kings of Southeast Asia”, RSG Philippines continued the tradition of a team coming from the lower bracket winning it all as they swept tournament favorite and Indonesia champions RRQ Hoshi, 4-0, in the grand finals of the Mobile Legends: Bang Southeast Asia Cup (MSC) 2022 at the Malaysia International Trade and Exhibition Centre here.
RRQ Hoshi appeared to have Game One in the bag, but a massive turnaround was staged by the Philippine champions as they took the opener despite all their turrets being down and RRQ Hoshi almost destroying the base by the 17th minute. The lord siege on the side of the Raiders had them wiping out the Indonesians by the 28th minute and drawing first blood.
Game Two saw an aggressive RRQ taking a kill lead, 1-6, and once again almost taking the game with the push towardsthe Filipino base by the 18th minute. But heroic plays by Nathanael “Nathzz” Estrologo and Game Two MVP Dylan "Light" Catipon once again turned the momentum on the side of the Raiders to bring their series lead to 2-0.
By the third game, it seems as though RRQ Hoshi was stuck in a devastating loop as RSG PH once again staged a comeback when RRQ was able to take the lord at the 16th minute of the third game and RSG PH's base was again left with just one turret and its base. But like what happened in the earlier two games, the Kingslayers mounted yet another unbelievable defense and would eventually lead to offense as they retook control of the map, propelling them to matchpoint.
Not leaving room for any mistakes, RSG PH dominated Game Four, winning the crown once more for the side of the Philippines as they dismantled the Kings of Kings in under 17 minutes to complete the sweep.
The win marks the third MSC crown for the Philippines, adding to Aether Main's win in 2018 and Execration, now Smart Omega's title last year.
The victory also made RSG PH the fourth consecutive Philippine team to win an International Mobile Legends title after coming from the lower brackets. BREN achieved the fete in M2, Smart Omega in MSC 2021, and Blacklist International in M3.