By Denzel Jed Gaddi

Bren ESports coded an epic series comeback over Smart Omega Esports, 3-2, while RSG Philippines pulled out a sweep to eliminate Onic Philippines during the MPL Philippines Season 10 quarterfinals, at the Blue Leaf Cosmopolitan, Thursday

Photo Courtesy of MPL PH

Bren returned to familiar territory.

The Hive came back from being down 0-2 in the lower bracket to steal Omega's ticket to the upper bracket semifinals behind Pheww’s veteran presence and summoned a spirited comeback.

Pheww, grabbing the limelight with his Pharsa, dealt 52365 damage dealt in Game 5 to secure the series win, helped by KyleTzy’s 1-0-6 KDA while Owgewen chipped in 6 assists.

Games 1 and 2 are an Atlas masterclass for Joshua "Ch4knu" Mangilog with his extensive counter sets resulting to free hits for Duane "Kelra" Pillas’ Claude and Beatrix, eventually earning a 0-2 series lead.

The Bren rookies have waited for this moment all season long and would not be denied as they took early game control in Game 3. With the casters anticipating a late-game damage spike from Kelra’s Lesley, it is Pheww’s Pharsa who stole the show with a 4-1-8 KDA.

Game 4 fueled up the fans with the surprise Gusion pick from Pheww. The two-assassin lineup for the Hive brought wonders for the team as they evened up the series, 2-2.

In the deciding game, the M2 champions sizzled early, making the Barangay surrender the macro objectives.  Their gold lead reached eight thousand on the 11-minute mark which created a snowball effect and Barangay never recovered from that.

After two years of playoff absence, Bren Esports are back in the upper bracket semis to face the reigning M3 champions Blacklist International on October 21. 

RSG waylays kryptonite.

Taking on the only squad that they have never vanquished during the regular season, RSG’s preparation ahead of the playoffs paid them well as they showed immediate counter on Stephen Jasper “Sensui” Castillo’s Minotaur pick in Games 1 and 2.

The first two games looked like the same story with Eman “EMANN” Sangco piling a 4-1-13 combined KDA, cooking Minotaur, all while utilizing continuous pokes to control the macro objectives. It was indeed a signature Task Force RSG exhibit, going up 2-0 in the playoff series.

Onic was a different beast in Game 3 though.

Seeking early game advantage, Onic forced countless non-stop actions which put an 8-3 upside with only 3:26 on the clock.

RSG refused to give a playoff win for the rookies as they recovered from an early onslaught through objective taking, clinching all the turtles and the lords throughout the match.

Nowee “Ryota” Macasa (Esmeralda) was practically invincible as he triggered a miracle save for Onic after the second lord takedown of the defending champions.

It was a bloodbath in the third lord attempt but Ryota’s prowess didn’t last longer than needed. After shutting down Esmeralda, The Raiders eyed straight on a base lock and grabbed the sweep against Onic.
  
Nathanael “Nathzz” Estrologo (Thamuz) played a huge impact on the win with a 4-5-9 KDA while Arvie “Aqua” Calderon (Faramis) contributed on 6-4-11.

RSG is set to face the second seed ECHO on October 21.


Edited by Quian Vencel Galut