An Explosive Start: MPL-PH S5 Playoffs Day 1 Recap
The playoffs for the Mobile Legends Philippines Season 5 kicked off today and the teams went all out for the first day, giving fans an exciting look at what’s to come this weekend.
Clash of the Titans
Bren Esports vs Execration
The playoffs kicked off in explosive fashion as Bren and Execration gave the fans a slugfest of an opener. The two teams traded wins in Games 1 and 2, and Game 3 was a 30-minute war between two of the strongest teams in the league. A huge 24/2/11 performance by KarlTzy on Ling helped secure Bren a ticket to the next round, as Execration fell to the Lower Bracket.
Sunsparks vs ONIC PH
The highly anticipated matchup of the season did not disappoint as blue and yellow once again meet. In their clash last season at the S4 Grand Finals, Sunsparks came up big in a 3-2 outing. Their first S5 matchup closed out the season with an Onic 2-1 win. For the first round of the playoffs, it was Sunsparks who came out on top after another 2-1 victory. They pulled off the reverse sweep on the back of Jaypee’s pocket Ling. He had a 9/0/7 Game 2 and a 5/0/4 Game 3, going deathless in their wins.
All or Nothing
ULVL vs SGD Omega
In the first elimination match in the Lower Bracket, experience triumphed at the Dragons dominated ULVL. Although ULVL looked poised to take Game 2, SGD were able to capitalize on punishing the mistakes by the rookie team. In a post-game interview, Hadjizy was asked what the team’s mindset was going into playoffs, knowing that they were in the lower bracket, “Enjoyin lang yung paglaro, at focus lang talaga.” (Just enjoy playing, and at the same time put your focus in). SGD move on to the next round and will face off against Onic PH.
Blacklist International vs BSB
The last match of the day featured some of the younger and newer players in the league. The new kids on the block BSB were ready to bring their hype from the independent circuits and tournaments, while Blacklist International had the perfect mix of veteran experience and young, new talent. Strong teamplay from Blacklist highlighted by Aqua’s Riddler helped secure them Game 1. In Game 2, BSB adjusted their draft and were able to execute for the win. A strong team comp with Jeraxnu on Karrie surrounded by strong sustain heroes were enough to fend off the triple tank line up from Blacklist. At the tail end of Game 3, Blacklist vets Honda Beast and Dex Star had a huge engage with a 4-man Khufra ult and Lolita follow-up. That teamfight ended ULVL’s playoff hopes and brought Blacklist on to the next round where they are set to face Execration.
The Mobile Legends Philippines Season 5 Playoffs continue on Saturday, May 30. The matches feature Bren and Sunsparks fighting in the Upper Bracket for the first Grand Finals slot. ONIC PH vs SGD Omega and Execration vs Blacklist International continue the Lower Bracket, where two more teams will go home. Catch all the action on the Mobile Legends: Bang Bang and Mobile Legends Esports Facebook pages and YouTube channels.
Subscribe to INQUIRER PLUS to get access to The Philippine Daily Inquirer & other 70+ titles, share up to 5 gadgets, listen to the news, download as early as 4am & share articles on social media. Call 896 6000.
