Photo: MPL PH

By Tiffany Dela Cruz

Team Liquid PH stands as the only unbeaten team, weathering early adversity before stunning AP Bren with a gutsy 2-1 reverse sweep to hand them their first loss in the MPL Philippines Season 17 on Sunday night at the Victoria Sports Tower.

The defending champions stumbled in Game 1 but roared back in the next two, completing the reverse sweep to tighten their grip on the top spot with an unblemished 4-0 record.

Up-and-coming jungler James “JamesPangks” Mendoza delivered a monster performance on Suyou in the opener, accounting for 17 of AP Bren's 24 kills while adding five assists against just one death in a tightly contested 18-minute win that put Team Liquid PH on the back foot early.

Photo: MPL PH

But Team Liquid PH’s championship poise soon kicked in, flipping the script in Game 2 as they steadied themselves and answered back to level the series.

Karl “KarlTzy” Nepomuceno turned in a steady performance on Guinevere, doing all the right things as Team Liquid PH gutted out a hard-fought win in nearly 16 minutes. He finished with two kills and five assists against just one death.

With momentum from their Game 2 win, Team Liquid PH stepped on the gas in Game 3, cruising to a lopsided 13-3 victory in under 12 minutes to secure their fourth consecutive win, powered by Jaypee “Jaypee” Dela Cruz’s Chou.

The veteran roamer tallied nine assists against just two deaths, orchestrating plays and setting the tone for Team Liquid PH’s dominant Game 3 finish.

Meanwhile, Team Falcons PH squeezed out a close 2-1 victory over reigning world champion Aurora PH for its second win in the regular season.

A crucial Lord take from Michael “Kyle” Sayson (Uranus) proved to be the difference late in Game 3, as Team Falcons PH followed it up with a key pickoff on Jhonard “Demonkite” Caranto (Fredrinn) before marching on for the game-winning siege to seal the series.

But it was Rowgien “Owgwen” Unigo (Kaja) who made the biggest impact, absorbing heavy damage while constantly setting up plays for his team, finishing with a towering 23 assists in the 25-11 Game 3 win that lasted 22 minutes.

Aurora PH drew first blood in the series behind a superb Kimmy performance from Kenneth “Yue” Tadeo, but Team Falcons PH quickly answered back in Game 2 to level the series, setting the stage for a thrilling Game 3.

Team Falcons PH improved its record 2-1, while Aurora PH slid to 2-2 in the standings.