ECHO denies Malaysia a reverse sweep, proceeds to the Upper Bracket Semis
JAKARTA, Indonesia — ECHO Philippines outlasted Malaysia champions Team HAQ, 3-2, during the first day of the Knockout Stages of the M4 World Champions at the Indoor Stadium Senayan, in Jakarta, Indonesia.
ECHO ended a tight Game One with a split push which distracted the Malaysian champions as gold laner Benedict “Bennyqt” Gonzales once again orchestrated a backdoor ending to put a nail to the 24 minute match.
The second game saw the Orcas dispatch their opponents in just under 13 minutes, splitting the map and dismantling Team HAQ's heroes one by one to propel them to match point.
Team HAQ however managed to dismantle the strategies of the Filipinos, focusing on getting turrets instead of engaging in team fights to equalize, 2-2, and force a decider.
With the series reduced to a winner-take-all, ECHO's mid-laner Alston "Sanji" Pabico carried the game with key pick-offs scoring the game MVP and propelling the Orcas to the Upper Bracket Semi-Finals.
Speaking of their back to back losses, the team did not expect that it would be a sweep but they did not think it would go to a decider. "Hindi po talaga siguro para sa amin yung Game Three [and four] pero para sa amin yung upper bracket," lamented Tristan "Yawi" Cabrera.
Asked if their opponents made any mistakes in the decider, Gonzales commended the play of Team HAQ. "They didn't do anything wrong, we were just in the zone. [It was] like we [were] more focused in Game Five." he said.
In the earlier Upper Bracket match, Filipino Jungler Kairi "Kairi" Rayosdelsol and Coach Paul "Yeb" Miranda with the rest of Indonesia's ONIC Esports swept dark horse Falcon Esports of Myanmar under the helm of Filipino coach Steve "Dale" Vitug. The Burmese team had ended the group stages at top spot after beating defending champions Blacklist International twice, but were unable to do anything against the Indonesian champions.
ECHO Philippines will face Rayosdelsol and Miranda and the rest of ONIC Esports at the Upper Bracket Semi-Finals on January 12 at 7 pm, Manila time.
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