Onic PH stayed alive while Smart Omega and Execration suffered huge upsets in the opening day of the ONE Esports MPL Invitational on Friday.
Banking on newly-acquired core prodigy Kairi "Kairi" Rayosdelsol (formerly FULL CLIP), Onic pulled off a 2-1 comeback win over its mother organization Onic Indonesia to advance to the second round in Bracket C.
Kairi led the MPL-Philippines Season 6 fourth-place finisher with his Lancelot in Game 2 (5-0-7 kill-death-assist record) and Ling in Game 3 (7-0-4).
Sidelaner Gerald "Dlar" Trinchera on his Yu Zhong was also instrumental in the deciding game, finishing with a 7-2-8 tally.
With the victory, the two-time MPL runner-up is set to take on the winner between sister teams Aura Philippines and Aura Indonesia which are set to battle at 3:15 p.m.
Philippine champion Bren Esports awaits them at the top of Bracket C.
Meanwhile, Season 6 silver winner Omega and bronze finisher Execration bowed out early in the 20-team tournament pitting the best squads in Southeast Asia.
Omega absorbed a 2-0 sweep in Bracket A to Indonesian side Genflix Aerowolf that went to new marksman Brody and Project NEXT's revamped mage Eudora.
It was a bigger heartbreak for Execration as the Billy "Z4pnu" Alfonso-coached team wasted a one-game lead to fall 2-1 at the hands of Burmese runner-up Ronin Esports in Bracket D.