Execration averted disaster against Cignal Ultra, pulling off a 3-2 escape to advance to the semifinals in the Mobile Legends: Bang Bang Pro League-Philippines (MPL-PH) Season 6 on Thursday night.
Jaylord "Hate" Gonzales' Helcurt ran riot in the deciding Game 5 to carry the top-seeded Execration past the hard-fighting Warriors.
The Billy "Z4pnu" Alfonso-coached team will face the winner between Smart Omega and Blacklist International which are squaring off as of writing time.
Cignal wound up at the 5th-8th place and got $1,500 (P72,800).
Cignal drew first blood in the best-of-five series as it came through with a 31-minute come-from-behind victory.
The double core setup of Jaymark "Hadess" Lazaro's Ling and Vail "tsujin" Alejo's Wanwan sparked the comeback for the squad in red.
Execration retaliated hard to take the next two games, with Patrick James "E2MAX" Caidic's Selena and Benedict "Bennyqt" Gonzales' Roger leading the charge in Game 2.
A "Chak Mamba" play was witnessed in Game 3 as Joshua "Ch4knu" Mangilog on his Jawhead threw DJ "ImbaDeejay" Astibe's Pharsa to the Lord pit to deny a base defense.
That allowed Hate's Roger and Jeff "S4gitnu" Subang's Uranus to finish off the game in the 15th minute.
However, Cignal--the second season champion--refused to go down without a fight, hammering out another comeback victory in Game 4 behind the triple threat of Hadess' Ling, tsujin's Angela and Jhones "RHEA" De Leon's Leomord that powered the Warriors.
But then Hate on his Helcurt did not want to disappoint Execration's legion of fans, taking charge of the squad's demolition job in Game 5.
Armed with Blade of Despair, Endless Battle and Demon Hunter Sword, Hate ripped Cignal one-by-one as he racked up nine kills and five assists against three deaths.
