Team Liquid Echo, Falcons AP Bren forge all-Filipino MSC semis clash

MANILA, Philippines – It's an all-Filipino semifinal series in the Mobile Legends Bang Bang Mid-Season Cup (MSC) 2024 as Team Liquid Echo and Falcons AP Bren annihilated their respective opponents, Falcons Esports of Myanmar and See You Soon of Cambodia, in the tournament’s knockout stage.

Team Liquid was first to battle as they took on Myanmar's Falcon Esports. It was pure domination on the side of the Cavalry, which took control of the first two games, 11-3 and 14-1. The third game saw a change of pace as Falcon Esports surprised Team Liquid Echo with a Zhask hero pick that head coach Archie "TicTac" Reyes admitted rattled the squad, giving the Myanmar team the chance to prevent a sweep.

"We were caught off-guard," confessed Reyes in the postmatch interview. He admitted it was something the team needed to work on to make sure they won't be influenced by similar situations in their remaining matches.

But the Philippine champions regained their bearings, avenging their loss with a perfect 11-0 fourth game to win the series and advance to the semifinals.

The following day, Falcons AP Bren faced the dark horse of the tournament, Cambodia's See You Soon, which has with fellow Filipinos Michael "MP the King" Endino and Kennt "Souuul" Baesa, who took down defending champion Fnatic ONIC Esports in the group stages.

Another powerhouse performance from the Filipino team as the reigning world champions finished off the Cambodian team in around 12 minutes for both Game 1 and 2.

See You Soon kept up with the pace of Falcons AP Bren in Game 3 and even managed a five-man wipeout as Falcons AP Bren tried to finish the game with the lord by the 12th minute. A team fight by the second lord saw the Cambodian tie the game and take the lead as they secured the lord.

But See You Soon's overextension on Falcon AP Bren's base saw Cambodia fall as Falcons AP Bren mounted a solid defense that transformed into offense as they marched towards the opposite base to win the series with a complete sweep.

With the wins, Team Liquid Echo and Falcons AP Bren forged an all-Filipino MSC semis clash — a rematch of the Philippine league's Season 13 finale, which will take place at 8 p.m. on July 12 (Manila time).