AP.Bren's title-retention bid in the MPL-PH Season 13 is off to a strong start after holding off Blacklist International.
AP.Bren sets its title defense in motion with a resounding romp of Blacklist International on Friday night.
Fresh off a golden campaign in the Games of the Future, the reigning champions picked up where they left off as they dispatched the Codebreakers, 2-0, to open their MPL-Philippines Season 13 campaign at the Shooting Gallery Studios in Makati.
At the 13th-minute mark in Game One, AP. Bren played a Lord dance to near perfection, with Rowgien "Owgen" Unigo’s Grock landing a crucial wild charge that caught Blacklist by surprise.
This set the stage for Marco "Super Marco" Requitiano’s Karrie to pick up a double kill, resulting in a free Lord and a successful siege. He finished with five kills and four assists without a death.
In Game Two, the Codebreakers put up a tough stand as AP.Bren struggled to find an opening. That, until Michael "KyleTzy" Sayson's Barats munched on Kiel “Oheb” Soriano's Claude using Detona's Welcome for a crucial pickoff that left Blacklist scrambling.
AP.Bren then took them out one by one for a series-clinching wipeout.
KyleTzy ended up with five kills and eight assists against two deaths to clinch MVP in Game Two, which lasted for 33 minutes and 31 seconds.
Earlier in the day, Minana EVOS leaned on the steady presence of Jann "Kirk" Gutierrez to score a 2-0 sweep of TNC, spoiling the league homecoming of Jaylord "Hatred" Gonzales.
Kirk came through for Minana as he secured MVP with Arlott for both games. He had three kills and 10 assists in the series-opener before following it up with a 4/2/3 KDA line in the clincher.
With Minana’s strong start, TNC failed to give Hatred, who was coming off back-to-back overseas stints with SMG in Malaysia and Impunity KH in Cambodia, a triumphant return.