The Cavalry lifted the inaugural Immortal Cup trophy as Team Liquid PH got its revenge, dethroning the defending champion ONIC PH on Sunday (June 1) at the MPL PH Season 15 Finals in Makati.
It was a showdown for the books, as the two teams went back at each other in all seven games of the series.
Everyone anticipated the matchup between Team Liquid’s Babycakes Duo: Kiel Calvin ‘Oheb’ Soriano and Karl Gabriel ‘Karltzy’ Nepomuceno and ONIC’s KK Connection: Grant Duane ‘Kelra’ Pillas and King “K1NGKONG” Perez.
However, it was the game-changing plays, including the Game 5-deciding Luo Yi Diversion play, from the TLPH midlaner, Alston “Sanji” Pabico, that ultimately shaped the direction of the series, winning him the MPL PH Season 15 Finals’ MVP award and the INFINIX My Greatest Teammate Award.
“Thank you, guys. Hindi ko makukuha kung hindi dahil sa suporta niyo, at sa mga teammates ko din na sobrang lalakas din talaga. Tinulungan nila ko makuha ‘to,” said Sanji, whose connection with his teammates grew during their bonding moments outside of the gaming arena – a weapon he knew will carry them through.
Winning his first MPL PH trophy in his first season with TLPH, head coach Rodel ‘Arsy’ Cruz also shared his joy and surprise.
“Sobrang saya kasi champion (kami). About sa game, wala din talaga kaming wino-worry kasi ang talagang tanging hiling lang namin is makapag-EWC (Esports World Cup) kami. But sobra-sobra pa ‘yung binigay sa amin kaya masaya kami,” he added.
It was the third championship for the TLPH as an organization. After their respective rest days, both teams will start to prepare for July, as they represent the country in the ML:BB Mid-Season Cup 2025 in Riyadh.
Valiant effort
During the post-match interview, ONIC PH head coach Anthony “YnoT” Senedrin shared his thoughts about everything that unfolded in their series.
“Definitely napakaganda. Lumabas talaga ‘yung tibay ng TLPH,” he said.
“With the addition of Oheb, alam naman nating lahat na sobrang fit na fit siya sa playstyle ng (Team) Liquid, and adding someone like Arsy, na I think naging magandang glue sa team, just (a) very good mix of people,” Ynot added.
Although his team came up a bit short, he remains proud of the performance and attitude his players showed during the whole series.
“Maganda din naman ang ipinakita ng players ko. Being down 2-3 nu’ng Game 6, it’s something na nakaka-proud as a coach kasi ‘di ko naman sila nakitaan na sobrang down, na wala na, na mahirap na, talo na. It’s cliche, but (there’s) lots of lessons to be learned today, lots of things to pack para sa mga susunod pang mga laban,” he added.
