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Manila Bulletin devider Sports devider Esports devider Team Liquid PH ends three-year wait, ousts SRG.OG to claim MSC crown

Team Liquid PH ends three-year wait, ousts SRG.OG to claim MSC crown

Published Aug 2, 2025 10:23 pm

At A Glance

  • Team Liquid PH essayed a gentleman's sweep of defending champion SRG.OG, 4-1 in the grand finals to claim the 2025 Mid-Season Cup crown in the Esports World Cup in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, Saturday, Aug 2.
And the wait is over for PH.
Team Liquid PH essayed a gentleman’s sweep of defending champion SRG.OG, 4-1, in the grand finals to claim the 2025 Mid-Season Cup crown in the Esports World Cup in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia on Saturday, Aug 2.
Save for an opening game hiccup, the Filipinos went on a rampage in the next four games to complete a sweep of the tournament and end a three-year dry spell for Philippine teams in the mid-year global showpiece.
Karl “Karltzy” Nepomuceno and Kiel “Oheb” Soriano stamped their class all-series long as after conceding tough 5-19 defeat in the serious opener, the Filipinos simply dominated the rest of the way much to the delight of the pro-PH crowd that included OFWs as well as chess grandmaster Magnus Carlsen.
Carlsen represented Team Liquid in the chess event in the EWC.
Alston “Sanji” Pabico, Sanford “Sanford” Vinuya and Jaypee “Jaypee” Dela Cruz were equally impressive all-tournament as TLPH bagged its first MSC title as a franchise along with a hefty P57 million top prize.
Sanford, for his series-long brilliance, copped the Finals MVP award. He was a menace for the opposing team, disrupting their lines during the important team fight behind his Lapu-Lapu and Gloo picks.
Karltzy, now the winningest MLBB player in history, refused to be outdone as he starred in the Game 3 that broke a 1-1 deadlock in the series. He dominated the jungle battle paving the way for Oheb to reach his power spike on the Moskov pick.
The star gold laner did not disappoint and scored a triple kill in TLPH base siege to take a 2-1 lead.
TLPH showed no letup in Game 4 and moved into the championship point, once again behind the setup and sustain from Sanford’s Gloo and the damage from the Hayabusa and Claude picks from Karltzy and Oheb.
With their spirits seemingly broken, the Malaysian team which featured Filipino imports John “Innocent” Banal and Mark “Kramm” Rusiana, offered little to no resistance as TLPH steamrolled to another victory highlighted by a triple kill from Oheb’s Granger pick.
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