RSG Philippines made quick work of its sister team RSG Singapore with a 2-0 sweep in the first round of the ONE Esports: MPL Invitational on Wednesday, November 3.
The Filipinos put up a masterful performance in Games 1 and 2 and gave their Singaporean counterparts a thorough beatdown to set up a second-round date with fellow Philippine representative ECHO.
Jonard “Demonkite” Caranto showed why he is the MPL Philippines Season 8 best rookie as he spearheaded the attack for the Bryan “Panda” Lim- mentored squad.
RSG SG tried to shut down Demonkite during the draft by banning his comfort jungler heroes like Hayabusa and Paquito but the super rookie still impressed with his unusual jungle Balmond pick in Game 1 where he put up an immaculate 9-0-1 KDA, including a maniac during a huge five-on-five clash in the mid lane in the ninth minute mark of the game.
EJ "Heath" Esperanza and Arvie "Aqua" Antonio dictated the tempo on their Mathilda and Pharsa picks respectively, allowing Demonkite to quickly reach his power spike and help the Filipinos dominate the Singaporeans in a 12-2 tally in Game 1. RSG PH only needed 11 minutes to score the first point of the series.
Smelling its opponent’s blood, RSG showed no letup in Game 2 as it finished off its sister squad in a swift 18-4 triumph in just 13 minutes of play.
Demonkite showed way anew with another surprise Karina jungler pick as he finished with 8-2-8 KDA. Former M2 representative and SEA Games medalists Kenneth “Kenji” Villa’s international experience was also in full display with his signature Ruby, putting up stellar numbers of nine assists, one kill without a death in Game 2.
RSG PH’s debuting rookie Eman "EMANN" Sangco also made his presence felt in both games as he unloaded 1-0-4 KDA on his Natan in Game 1 and a 6-1-6 KDA on his Claude in Game 2 where he was named as the game MVP.
The winner between the clash of ECHO and RSG PH will get the right to challenge the MPL Indonesian champions Onic Esports in the quarterfinals of the tournament.