Team Liquid PH left no room for debate in the battle for first place.
The defending MPL Philippines champions dismantled fellow contender ONIC Philippines in a 2-0 sweep Saturday at Victoria Sports Tower, needing just 24 minutes to finish the series and seize the top spot heading into the second half of Season 18.
Karl Gabriel “KarlTzy” Nepomuceno led the demolition job, putting together nine kills, one death, and seven assists across two games on Paquito.
KarlTzy runs through ONIC
KarlTzy wasted no time making his presence felt in Game 1. His Paquito combo caught King Cyric “K1NGKONG” Perez and Clayton “Savero” Kuswanto at the same time, deleting both ONIC stars and giving TLPH another opening to tighten its grip on the game.
The Cavalry never let ONIC recover, closing out the opener before quickly repeating the performance in Game 2.
KarlTzy continued his rampage, helping TLPH maintain complete control while ONIC struggled to find even a single kill.
That kill finally came at the very end of the series. KarlTzy dove deep into ONIC’s base looking to take down two more players before K1NGKONG’s Hirara finally brought him down. It was ONIC’s lone kill across the entire 24-minute series.
TLPH’s mid lane shuts ONIC down
KarlTzy was not the only Cavalry player running the show.
Alston “Sanji” Pabico and veteran roamer Jaypee “Jaypee” dela Cruz gave ONIC almost nothing to work with throughout the sweep.
Sanji finished the series with six kills and nine assists without dying once, while Jaypee contributed two kills and 14 assists. Together, the TLPH mid-roam duo helped maintain the pressure around the map and gave KarlTzy the space to repeatedly find openings.
ONIC, meanwhile, never established enough momentum to threaten a comeback.
Cavalry finishes first half on top
The sweep sends TLPH into the second half of Season 18 with a 6-1 match record and a league-best +11 game differential.
ONIC drops to third at 5-2 with a +5 game differential, while Team Falcons PH moved into second after sweeping AP.Bren earlier in the day.
SuperMarco earned match MVP honors for Falcons after combining for an 8/2/13 KDA across the two games as the Green Falcons dispatched AP.Bren.
TNC Pro Team also improved to 3-3 after handing winless Twisted Minds PH its seventh consecutive defeat. Nowee “Ryota” Macasa starred in Game 1, while Zehnder “Zehn” Fabugais took over in the second to complete the sweep.
TNC will close its first-half campaign against Smart Omega on Sunday, with both teams entering at 3-3. Falcons, meanwhile, will face Aurora Gaming PH in a battle between two teams looking to finish the first half on a high.
