Lyceum of the Philippines University Pirates reigned supreme in the Collegiate Center for Esports’ Mobile Legends Invitational Varsity Cup on Saturday, Nov. 20.

The LPU Pirates completed a Cinderella run as they defeated Mapua University Cardinals in a dominant fashion, 4-2, in the Grand Finals after climbing its way from the lower bracket.
The championship was a fitting end for LPU’s busy day where it had to shake off the Colegio San Juan de Letran Knights with a resounding sweep in the lower bracket finals, before engaging the Cardinals to a best-of-seven finale.
LPU then needed six games to dispatch Mapua, with Yancy Remulla starring in its last three victories in the series. Remulla was on a different league when he got his signature jungle Yi Sun-Shin pick which powered Lyceum’s Game 3 and 4 victories to take a commanding 3-1 lead.
With the series tied one game apiece, Remulla picked up the pace and teamed up with Lorenzo Navarro on his Kadita to spearhead a 19-9 Game 3 triumph for the side of the Pirates. Remulla’s YSS finished with an impeccable 5-0-9 performance while Navarro provided the support with a 3-2-9 score line on the Kadita.
Remulla and the Pirates continued to roll in Game 4, hacking out a close 20-16 victory to take a commanding 3-1 victory in the series. The Pirates’ jungler remained stellar on the YSS with a 7-3-7 stat line.
Mapua, though, refused to go down silently as it threw its own punches in a grueling 28 minutes Game 5. Lyceum had multiple chances to finish off Mapua, the last one at the 25-minute mark where it secured the Luminous Lord.
Mapua’s defense, anchored on its Pharsa, stood firm against LPU’s death push. The Cardinals successfully defended its base before getting two crucial pick-offs to complete a comeback and extend the series.
Warren Bonifacio showed the way with a perfect 6-0-16 game on the Kaja.
Lyceum, however, returned the favor in the next game as it also scored a come-from-behind win to close out the series. Remulla stepped up to the plate, again on his YSS pick, finishing with a 6-1-6 KDA.
He helped the Pirates recover from a slow start and claim the victory despite trailing the game 14-17.