Team Liquid stays unbeaten, ONIC rises in Week 3

April 14 ------ Team Liquid Philippines showed no signs of slowing down as it stretched its perfect record to 6-0, while ONIC Philippines bounced back from a rough stretch with back-to-back wins in Week 3 of MPL Philippines Season 17 at the Victoria Sports Tower in Quezon City.

The Cavalry are now pulling away in the standings, unleashing their signature stampede against the struggling Smart Omega and a TNC Pro Team still searching for early-season momentum in Week 3. The clash between Team Liquid and TNC Pro Team last Saturday featured a duel between roamer veterans Jaypee “Jaypee” Dela Cruz and Joshua “Ch4knu” Mangilog. But it was Jaypee who came out on top, earning the Match MVP title after delivering perfectly timed Raging Sandstorm plays with Khaleed in Game 1 and a steady Hylos performance in Game 2.

In the first game, Team Liquid PH dominated TNC Pro Team in terms of securing jungle objectives, building a massive 12,000 gold lead, and taking total control of the map. After securing the 12-minute Lord uncontested, the Cavalry pushed forward. Jaypee forced TNC to retreat at a 13-minute base siege after landing a Raging Sandstorm–Flicker combo, allowing Dave “Teddy” Viaña’s Claude to pick up a clutch double kill.

Jaypee had his imprints all over the win, finishing with a 2-1-10 KDA and 100% kill participation. Game 2 was no different. Team Liquid controlled the early game with constant jungle invasions, highlighted by Sanford’s Uranus breaking through the backlines for a double kill at the 4-minute mid lane fight against Zaida’s Guinevere and Stowm’s Zhuxin.

Teddy’s Claude unleashed a Blazing Duet–Wind Chant combo in the final push. The damage from Teddy forced TNC’s last three members to retreat and unable to defend their base undefended. Sanford, playing Uranus, lived up to his reputation as the ‘Apex Predator’ with a 4-1-10 KDA performance.

ONIC PH, on the other hand, climbed to the sole No. 3 spot by taking down rising AP.Bren and long-time rival Aurora Gaming PH, whom the Super Family last defeated way back in the MPL Philippines Season 15 Upper Bracket Semifinals. The Super Family finally got their long overdue revenge from the Northern Lights, powered by Match MVP Clayton “Savero” Kuswanto, the Indonesian import who is now finding his form in the Philippines.

In Game 1, ONIC PH dominated from start to finish, showing no fear of Aurora’s Benedetta pick in the hands of Edward “Edward” Dapadap, and securing a one-sided 10–2 kill score with a 14,000 gold lead. Savero’s Freya secured a double kill in the 16-minute Lord fight, while Borris “Brusko” Parro’s Khaleed zoned out Dominic “Domengkite” Delmundo on Yi Sun Shin to help ONIC take Game 1. Savero was named Game 1 MVP after delivering a flawless 4-0-6 KDA and 100% kill participation.

In Game 2, both teams played safe, showing strong discipline which resulted in a low-scoring match. The score stood at just 5–3 past the 9-minute mark. Aurora mounted a valiant defense and extended the game beyond 22 minutes. However, Jann “Kirk” Gutierrez on Alice led ONIC with a game-winning Throne of Ruin–Flicker combo that immobilized four Aurora members in the final push. Cyric “K1NGKONG” Perez on Harley posted a flawless 5-0-4 KDA, while Savero on Yi Sun Shin delivered a strong 5-1-3 performance to power ONIC to a sweep.

Week 3 Results

Friday (April 10)

ONIC 2 - 0 AP.Bren

TLPH 2 - 0 Omega

Saturday (April 11)

AP.Bren 0 - 2 Twisted Minds

Omega 0 - 2 Falcons

TNC 0 - 2 TLPH

Sunday (April 12)

Falcons 2 - 0 Twisted Minds

ONIC 2 - 0 Aurora

Source: spin.ph