Sibol MLBB team bucked a sluggish start but recovered just in time to complete a 2-0 domination of Argentina to advance to the lower bracket semifinals in the IESF World Esports Championship 2022 in Bali, Indonesia on Tuesday, Dec. 6.
The nationals saw themselves trailing 4-1 in kill score early in Game 1 but pressed the right buttons to turn things around in the late game and score the series sweep that forged a showdown against fellow SEA team Malaysia in the next round.
Argentina actually had complete control of the match in the first 10 minutes and even secured the first Lord of the game. Sibol, though, leaned on the defense from Salic “Hadji” Imam’s Yve and Kiel “Oheb” Soriano's Irithel to prevent the Argentines from taking down any inhibitor turrets.
The Filipino then started their fightback at the 14-minute mark where they picked off Argentina’s Kadita giving them a 5 to 4 advantage in the Lord dance. Argentina tried to contest the objective but Sibol made sure to make them pay with a double kill and a Lord secure.
It was all Sibol from there as the Filipinos secured another Lord before completing a wipeout in the final Lord siege to take Game 1 with a 16-10 come-from-behind win.
Riding the crest of the Game 1 win, the Filipinos then went on to cruise to a much easier 18-12 win in Game 2 to stay undefeated since falling to the lower bracket of the tournament.
Meanwhile, also coming out victorious was the Sibol DOTA 2 team which trounced Kazakhstan, 2-0, in the upper bracket quarterfinals.
It was a total display of force from the Filipinos who shrugged off an early resistance from the Kazakhs before securing a 39-13 win in the series opener. The nationals then showed no letup in the second round, closing out the series with a 46-18 triumph.
Sibol will next face the hosts Indonesia which is bannered by TSM player Matthew “Whitemon” Filemon and Talon Esports’ Rafli "Mikoto" Rahman.