ECHO put up a masterful performance over TNC Pro-team, taking a dominant 2-0 sweep to end their three-game slide in MPL Philippines Season 8 on Friday, Sept. 17.
After dealing with COVID-19 effects, Christian “Rafflesia” Fajura was back in his deadly form and dictated the tempo for ECHO on his Mathilda in Game 1. He spearheaded the attack for his team, taking three kills and four assists against a death in the one sided 15-minute affair, on his way to claiming the MVP honors.
It was a lopsided win for ECHO as it pounced on every opportunity in the early game and shut down the late-game composition of TNC anchored on Patrick “P-God” Ibarra’s Beatrix and Clarense “Kousei” Guzman’s Alice.
A crucial team fight at the top lane, near TNC’s jungle area, saw ECHO taking down two heroes on TNC’s side at the 14-minute mark to seal the deal in the first game.
Riding the Game 1 momentum, it was almost the same story for ECHO in Game 2 as Benedict “BennyQt” Gonzales made his presence felt with his gold lane Chou boasting a flawless stat line of 2-0-2 KDA while jungler Mark “Hadess” Lazaro took three kills against a lone death in the 17-minute game.
Rion Manalo “RK3” Kudo also had a stellar performance in the sweep, contributing a 1-0-1 KDA in his Kagura in Game 1 and a 2-1-2 line in his Selena in Game 2.
It was a bitter debut for TNC rookies Ben “Benthings” Maglaque and Lander “Der” San Gabriel who suit up in place of starters Dylan “Light” Catipon and Frediemar “3martzy” Serafico.
With the win, ECHO, which lost three straight games after a 2-1 start in the season, improves to 3-4 with 11 points. TNC, meanwhile absorbed their second straight defeat and fell to 2-3 with eight points.
TNC, though, will have their chance to bounce back when they face RSG PH while ECHO can ride on this momentum as they take on the defending champs Blacklist International, both on Saturday. (RM)