By Denzel Jed Gaddi

Vengeance inflicted.

After settling for silver against the same team in MPL S10, ECHO completed its revenge tour as it decoded Blacklist International’s winning hilt, 4-0, in the M4 World Championship, Sunday.

Photo Courtesy of One Esports Philippines

Strained to its utmost by the defending champions, ECHO suffered yet another meltdown in the upper bracket finals against Blacklist before soaring from the lower bracket en route to the crown.

The thunderous reign of Typhoon Benny (Benedict "Bennyqt" Gonzales) earned him the Finals MVP with the help of the mythical duo of Alston "Sanji" Pabico and Sanford "Sanford" Vinuya.

“Hindi na po kami first round exit, ngayon kami na po ang pinakamalakas sa buong mundo,” Tristan "YAWI" Cabrera said.

The Orcas buckled down to work in the finals.

They dealt solid notice of their title bid early in the series, taking the first two games flawlessly with a 33-12 kill comparison.

In Game 3, Sanji debuted Gusion to shock the Agent’s Ultimate Bonding Experience strat via a 9-2-8 KDA while Bennyqt (Brody) added 4 kills and 8 assists.

The MPL PH runner-up zoomed to an early gold lead in Game 4 as they established a four thousand resource gap. Blacklist tried to storm a comeback by taking down three of the Orcas, but the death of their four members ultimately cost them the series.

With the win, ECHO prevented the historic back-to-back title for the Agents but Karl “KarlTzy” Nepomuceno created one as he became the first player to clinch two world rings.

The newly-crowned champions took home the $300,000 prize, along with rings, medals, and the coveted M4 trophy.


Edited by Diana Mae Salonoy