By REYNALD MAGALLON
Bren unleashed its vintage form in a dominant 2-0 sweep of Onic Philippines on Saturday, Sept. 25 – a victory that should serve as notice to doubters regarding the team's ability to bounce back from a sluggish start in the MPL Philippines Season 8.
Bren extended its streak to three as it flexed its championship form highlighted by a lopsided 16-8 victory in Game 2.
Karl “Karltzy” Nepomuceno showed why he’s still one of the best junglers in the league with six kills on his jungle Paquito, none bigger when he scored triple kill in the final clash to seal the deal for the M2 World champions. He also added six assists against three kills while CJ “Ribo” Ribo added three kills and nine assists against two deaths.
After subpar performances early in the season, Allan “Lusty” Castromayor also came alive in Bren’s last three series. Lusty stepped up and provided the plays using his signature Khufra to finish with 10 assists and a kill, without a single death in Game 2.
He also set up the pace in Game 1 when he registered the series-high 13 assists against three deaths.
Bren took down Onic in Game 1 while utilizing the same lineup that dismantled Nexplay Evos the day before. Karltzy continued to make the difference on his jungler Natan, scattering five kills and seven assists against one death to spearhead the attack.
He was backstopped by David “Flaptzy” Canon who claimed the Game 1 MVP honors with 4-4-3 stat line while also disrupting Kairi “Kairi” Rayosdelsol’ jungle Alucard.
Kairi, though, still put up a good fight with a 5-3-2 KDA in Game 1 before following it up with a 4-3-4 KDA on his Ling in Game 2.
With the win, Bren moved up one spot in the standings, now in sixth spot with a 4-6 win-loss slate for 12 points. The squad also split its season series with Onic which also swept them in their first meeting. Onic, though, kept its hold on the second spot with a 6-4 record and 19 points.