Three teams remained as the MPL Invitational 4 Nation Cup (MPLI) 2020 entered the final day of the Playoffs: MPL-ID champions RRQ, MPL-MY/SG champions Resurgence and MPL-MM champions Burmese Ghouls.
The opening series was the lower bracket final between Resurgence and Burmese Ghouls. The sides met earlier on Day 1 with the Singaporean outfit triumphing 2-0. However, the champions of Myanmar had overcome difficult odds on Day 2, eliminating both Geek Fam and EVOS Legends in the lower bracket.
Resurgence established an early lead with an aggressive line-up including Esmeralda, Lou Yi and Roger. Burmese Ghouls, on the other hand, opted for durability by securing both Uranus and Baxia, with Ace's Hayabusa being their main damage dealer.
As the game entered its midpoint, both teams' power levels were relatively even despite Resurgence having the gold lead. Teamfights were extended affairs which ultimately played to Resurgence's strength in positioning and decision-making.
With Resurgence pulling slightly ahead after each teamfight victory, they finally took the game after 17 minutes.
With their tournament lives on the line, Burmese Ghouls opted to completely switch up their draft, picking four different heroes from Game 1. It was a more traditional hyper carry line-up built around Ace's Karrie.
From a variety of viewpoints, it was a risky move, as Resurgence have been known to be aggressors in the early game, capable of punishing greedy teams. In fact, Burmese Ghouls had earlier lost 7-31 to Resurgence when they drafted Karrie on Day 1.
Nevertheless, history did not repeat itself. Kudos to Burmese Ghouls to stay in the game despite losing both red buffs at the start of the game and losing a Turtle to Jason's Flameshot.
With the series in the balance, both teams approached the final game cautiously, opting for Marksmen like Bruno (BG) and Granger (RSG), rather than Assassins of the current meta.
The start followed the script of the other two games with Resurgence once again leading the game and Burmese Ghouls hanging on. However, Resurgence made fewer mistakes and had a better late-game composition. Sana's Kaja was instrumental in causing havoc and making key pickoffs, with Jason's Pharsa dealing an insane amount of damage.
Despite Burmese Ghouls valiant defense, the MPL-MY/SG champions were too clean in their teamfight execution, methodically taking down key objectives until they secured victory after 18 minutes.
With this victory, Resurgence book another date with MPL-ID Season 5 champions RRQ, a team to whom they lost in the upper bracket final to be played later today.
Fans can catch the MPLI action live on eGG Network TV, Astro Arena, Facebook or YouTube.
The first lower bracket match of the day saw recently-crowned MPL Myanmar Season 4 champions, Burmese Ghouls, take on MPL-MY/SG Season 5 1st runners-up Geek Fam.
The elimination match was full of surprises, but the seasoned Burmese players' composure, combined with Ace's scintillating performance helped them overturn overwhelming odds in Game 1, which propelled them to an easier victory in the second game.
Both teams opened their campaigns yesterday with 2-0 scores: Burmese Ghouls lost to Resurgence, whereas Geek Fam triumphed over Genflix Aerowolf.
Geek Fam's confidence carried them into an early lead over Burmese Ghouls which they carefully maintained. Hero kills were scarce, but Geek Fam's superior economy management allowed them to control the pace of the game and by the 5th minute, the Malaysians had already taken all three of Burmese Ghouls' tier 1 towers without losing any of theirs.
However, the champions of Myanmar held defended their inhibitor turrets well, and each Geek Fam failed to breach their defenses, Ace's Bruno became stronger. But the Malaysian squad's 19th minute Lord push seemed to have sealed the game beyond doubt, but a sloppy teamfight in the 23rd minute gave Burmese Ghouls a lifeline.
The Myanmar outfit duly took the next Lord and in one fell swoop, pushed into Geek Fam's base to achieve an amazing comeback.
The previous game's defeat from a winning position seemed to hurt Geek Fam's confidence, and compared to Game 1, they played more cautiously. Burmese Ghouls, on the other hand, went for a crowd-controlling line-up to maximise Ace's Hayabusa pick.
Their strategy proved effective even though Geek Fam fought tooth and nail to stay in the game. Nevertheless, Burmese Ghouls' better teamfight execution, and the lack of a hard-counter to Hayabusa allowed them to gradually build up an insurmountable lead.
There was no fairy tale ending for Geek Fam this game as Burmese Ghouls proved more clinical in finishing off the game without making mistakes. This series was reminiscent of Geek Fam's MPL-MY/SG Season 5 grand final loss to Resurgence, a team they had previously defeated in the upper bracket final. The players will need to do some soul-searching as they figure out why they choke in winnable games.
With this victory, Burmese Ghouls advance to the next lower bracket round and will face either EVOS Legends or ONIC in the next round.
Fans can catch the MPLI action live on eGG Network TV, Astro Arena, Facebook or YouTube.
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