Liyab Esports put up a gallant stand but it was not enough to upset the much-favored Boom Esports which took a slim 2-1 win in their lower bracket match in the League of Legends Pacific Championship Series (PCS) Summer Split 2021 on Friday night, August 13.
After a quick defeat in the opener, Liyab pulled off a huge come-from-behind victory in nearly 36 minutes in Game 2 behind Ren "Kanji" Motomitsu's Sett to forge a do-or-die duel.
Kanji finished with nine kills and nine assists against seven deaths as he served as the frontliner for the Filipino side in crucial team fights.
However, Boom Esports mid laner Lee "Ruby" Sol-min on his Syndra proved too much to handle in the decisive Game 3 as the Indonesia-based team punctuated the series in nearly 32 minutes.
Liyab not only crashed out of the PCS Summer Split but also saw its dream of making it to the prestigious Worlds 2021 fade away.
Still, it was a remarkable run for coach Gerald "Tgee" Gelacio and his boys in blue as they marked their first-ever playoff appearance in the regional league after sparking a miracle run in the group stage.
Liyab snapped a 17-game losing streak dating back to the Spring Split and won four games in the closing weeks of the Summer Split before edging out Impunity in a tiebreaker for the last playoff spot.
The Globe-backed team bagged $3,000 (more than P150,000) for winding up at the 7th-8th places together with Berjaya Dragons.
The two finalists of the PCS Summer will qualify for the World Championship in China later this year.