Bren Esports rued its missed chance to further climb up the standings after failing to sweep Blacklist International in the MPL Philippines Season 9 on Saturday, April 2.
A sweep on Blacklist could have given Bren the chance to move up the ladder and catch the M3 Champion at the seventh place with both 11 points across the board. More important, the team’s maximum possible point could have gone up to 17 if it completed the sweep, and get a better chance at making the playoffs.
“’Yung mindet ko kanina is kailangan naming i-2-0 to have the best possible, yung parang best scenario para sa atin. Di masyadong nakakastress,” said coach Paolo “Pauloxpert” Munsayac.
Bren actually had a good start to its cause after pulling off a 21-13 victory in Game 1. The squad however fell short in the second game as Blacklist equaled the series tally following its 14-13 triumph.
Bren then had to lean on David “Flaptzy” Canon’s Esmeralda in the final sequences of the winner-take-all to bag the 16-10 Game 3 win.
“Kahit 2-1 kanina medyo nasa likod ng isip ko na we're not in the best situation where we can be. Sana 2-0 kanina kung di kami nakampante, nanghihinayang kami na di namin na 2-0 yung Blacklist,” he added.
With the team’s 2-1 victory and Omega Esports 2-0 sweep of Nexplay Evos, Bren remained at the bottom spot of the standings.
Pauloxpert, nonetheless, admired how the young team delivered in the pressure-packed game, saying his current five is now far different from the quintet it had in the first half of the regular season.
"We didn't do anything special kung ano yung ginawa namin sa practice yun yung draft namin, ganun din sila maglaro talagang wala na silang pressure. Mahahalata mo talaga sa laro ng mga ito kumpara sa first half ng season super iba it's not the same team A that you saw in the first half of the season," he added.
He'll need more of that performance though as Bren still has the chance of making it to the playoffs but it has to win in its last two games including the crucial match against No.6 team Omega Esports next week.
A loss, regardless whether a 2-1 or 2-0 defeat, in that game would eliminate Bren from playoff contention. A win will boost its chances but Bren’s fate isn’t exactly on its hands alone as it also needs to hope that Blacklist International lose one of its last two games to get a better chance at advancing to the next round.