By Denzel Jed Gaddi

Typhoon Benny on Signal Number 5.

With ECHO's upper bracket slot on the line, Benedict "Bennyqt" Gonzales stormed out a masterclass to survive Team Haq’s late scare, 3-2, in the MLBB M4 World Championships, Saturday.

Photo Courtesy of Rappler

The Malaysian representatives took over games 3 and 4 for a potential reverse sweep of the Orcas, but Bennyqt and Alston "Sanji" Pabico had other plans as they made quick work in game 5.

Fresh from a flawless group stage outing, Bennyqt floods damage from Brody, fuming out two kills and four assists. Meanwhile, Sanji’s signature Yve posted a near-perfect 5-1-4 KDA by providing immediate backup on possible enemy pickoffs.

Asked about the team's conversation before the deciding match, Tristan "YAWI" Cabrera answered, "Lahat po kami confident pa rin naman po na kami 'yong mananalo, Pilipinas lang malakas." 

At the 24-minute mark of the opening salvo, all players were focused on taking the lord objective but Bennyqt (Karrie), as he initiated a backdoor base push to grab the game 1 victory with 11 kills.

ECHO then drafted Karrie once again, but this time with Sanji’s Kadita, as the duo inflicted major damage to list a 23-7 kill comparison. Karrie ended the game with 10 kills while Sanji added 12 assists.

Team Haq will not go down without a fight, though.

Banning Karrie in games 3 and 4 brought wonders to the MPL Malaysia champions as they erased Bennyqt’s heavy carry capability. It was a nip-and-tuck affair in game 4 but they then forced a deciding game as ECHO got a taste of their own medicine, losing the clash via a split push from Poh "Panda" Wai (Claude) and Muhammad "Garyy" Syafizan (Ling).

The MPL Season 10 silver medalists then flaunted its ECHO Express form in the do-or-die match to clinch an early game advantage. At only the 10-minute mark, they swiftly pushed a base turret takedown to grab the series win.

With the victory, they are set to face Kairi-led Onic Indonesia in the upper bracket semifinals on January 12.


Edited by Quian Vencel Galut