MANILA, Philippines — Reigning Philippine Mobile Legends Bang Bang champion Fnatic ONIC Philippines secured a slot in the M6 World Championship knockout stages by sweeping its Swiss Stage campaign, 3-0, over the weekend.
One of two teams to advance to the next round, Fnatic ONIC Philippines opened its M6 campaign against the champion of rival region, Team Liquid Indonesia, securing the win in just over 11 minutes. The second day saw The Super Family trounce Cambodia champion CFU Gaming to move one win away from securing an early slot in the knockout stages and a flawless Swiss Stage run.
But it was not an easy matchup as the team was drawn against North American champion BloodThristyKings (BTK).
In a clash of tournament favorites, Fnatic ONIC Philippines surprised everyone by picking Layla, one of the game's tutorial heroes who is usually used at the beginning of one's foray to the game but not a hero to use in rank games or even in professional tournaments. The squad’s gutsy pick was Layla's debut in the world stage, with many doubting the choice.
Only for the Filipino gold laner, Duane “Kelra” Pillas, to flex his laning skills and end the game with an MVP performance at a 5-0-4 KDA.
Though BTK answered back with a dominant display in Game 2, Pillas on his Irithel took down four heroes on the North American squad by the 11th minute to end the series and punch a ticket to the next round.
With the Philippine champion secured, all eyes are on Aurora, which has seen a disappointing early run in the Swiss Stage, going 0-2 against Myanmar's Falcon Esports and Singapore's NIP Flash.
With one last life in the Swiss Stage, the light remained alive for Aurora as they swept wild card and Turkey representative Ulfhednar (formerly Fire Flux Esports), 2-0, to continue with the tournament.
Aurora hopes to improve to a 2-2 standing as it faces Indonesian champion Team Liquid Indonesia on Wednesday, December 4, at 7 p.m. (Manila time).