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MPL PH S9: ONIC PH pull off reverse sweep over ECHO

ONIC Philippines pulled off a reverse sweep over Echo Esports to maintain their hold over the fourth seed in the Mobile Legends Professional League Philippines Season 9 regular season. (Photo: ONIC Philippines)
ONIC Philippines pulled off a reverse sweep over Echo Esports to maintain their hold over the fourth seed in the Mobile Legends Professional League Philippines Season 9 regular season. (Photo: ONIC Philippines)

ONIC Philippines showed off their resiliency on Friday (8 April) in the Mobile Legends Professional League Philippines (MPL PH), pulling off a reverse sweep over ECHO Esports from down 1-0 and solidifying their hold on the fourth spot in the standings.

Despite a strong start to the series, ONIC lost control of game one and ceded victory to ECHO in the opener.

However, they were able to right the ship with a dominant game two to tie things up, before edging out their opponents in the deciding game three. Here's how all the action went down:

ECHO drafted a burst-oriented lineup in game one that included Masha, Helcurt, and Dyrroth. Onic responded by picking up Wanwan and Yve as their primary damage dealers and drafting three tanky heroes to protect them: Hilda, Khufra, and Baxia.

The early game favored ONIC's tanky setup, picking up four kills in the first turtle fight as ECHO left Allen “Baloyskie” Baloy’s Yve unattended to inflict as much damage as possible with his Real World Manipulation.

Mark “Markyyyyy” Etcobañez’s Wanwan was also able to farm unchallenged for the first few minutes, with the match seemingly going according to ONIC's plan.

However, the turning point for ECHO came during the second turtle fight as they secured three kills and the turtle, followed by pickoffs on the overextending Wanwan and Yve in the middle lane.

The power spike of ECHO's burst-oriented lineup shone even more during the midgame.

Tristan “YAWI” Cabrera’s Masha provided much-needed vision and zoning for ECHO as they targeted Yve and Wanwan during each team fight.

Karl “KarlTzy” Nepomuceno’s Helcurt continually used Dark Night Falls to immediately burst down Wanwan, helping ECHO control the map and secure objectives. Unfortunately for ONIC, their tanky trio could not protect Wanwan enough for the marksman to secure sufficient farm.

ECHO finished the game with a successful fight during the second lord while Frederic “Bennyqt” Gonzales’ Paquito pushed the middle lane uncontested, opening up ONIC's base and ultimately securing the win for ECHO.

YAWI’s Masha won the game’s MVP with a 3/2/5 performance.

Screenshot: (MPL Philippines)
Screenshot: (MPL Philippines)

Micophobia takes the stage by storm

Needing a win to force a game three, ONIC picked up Kairi "Kairi" Rayosdelsol's Lancelot and paired him with Karl Mico "Micophobia" Quitlong's Franco. Meanwhile, ECHO drafted MLBB's newest hero, Xavier, for Jankurt "KurtTzy" Matira.

ONIC's Franco pick immediately paid dividends, as Micophobia managed to save Kairi’s Lancelot with a well-timed hook on YAWI’s Hilda, while also giving Kairi the first blood.

An extended fight in the first turtle clash resulted in ONIC killing three heroes in exchange for the Lancelot and the turtle kill.

Overall, Micophobia’s Franco hooked three heroes in the first four minutes of the match, all of which led to kills for ONIC.

ONIC’s gold lead increased to 4,600 by the 9-minute mark after a successful counter-initiation, leading to another three-for-one trade in favor of ONIC along with the middle lane tower.

ECHO did mount a successful defense of their base after the first lord, showcasing the burst potential of Xavier’s Dawning Light along with the damage output of Bennyqt’s Beatrix by instantly killing Baloyskie’s Yve.

However, it was not enough for ECHO in the end as ONIC secured the second lord uncontested and broke through ECHO's top lane to finish the game.

ONIC had equalized the match with a more convincing performance, finishing with 13 kills while only giving up four deaths.

Micophobia, in his debut match this season with ONIC, picked up the MVP award for game two by finishing with an impressive 2/1/7 performance on his Franco.

Screenshot: (MPL Philippines)
Screenshot: (MPL Philippines)

Disaster for ECHO in game three

Both teams employed a marksman in the deciding game three, with ONIC picking Markyyyyy’s Beatrix and ECHO picking Bennyqt’s Brody.

High-mobility junglers were also on display as Onic picked Kairi’s Lancelot once again, while ECHO settled for KarlTzy’s Ling.

ONIC's split pushing tactics were again deployed in the decider. As ECHO ganked heroes throughout the map, ONIC were content to push towers and secure objectives.

ONIC's active roaming duo of Baloyskie’s Grock and Micophobia’s Selena also disrupted ECHO's movements throughout the map and provided distractions while ONIC secured objectives.

By the 12-minute mark, ONIC had secured three turtles and the first lord. ECHO were leading in kills 8-5 at this point, but all of their outer towers had already been destroyed.

Emboldened by a two-for-one trade near the lord pit in their favor, ECHO attempted to take the second lord in hopes of getting back into the game.

Unfortunately for ECHO, a knock-up from the lord gave ONIC the opportunity they needed as Grock and Lancelot jumped onto ECHO's heroes, immediately bursting down Ling and stealing the second lord for themselves.

ECHO's disastrous attempt sealed their fate as ONIC pushed down the middle lane with the lord and finished the game. Micophobia grabbed the MVP award once again with a 4/2/4 performance on his Selena.

(Screenshot courtesy of MPL Philippines)
(Screenshot courtesy of MPL Philippines)

With the win, ONIC improve to 8-5 and create some separation from fifth-placed Nexplay EVOS.

Meanwhile, ECHO drop down to 8-5 but still hang on to their second spot, though may not for long. TNC Predator will have a chance to take that second seed away from ECHO should they sweep Nexplay EVOS on Saturday (9 April).

For more esports news updates, visit https://yhoo.it/YahooEsportsSEA and check out Yahoo Esports Southeast Asia’s Facebook page and Twitter, as well as our Gaming channel on YouTube.

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