"Respeto din po kasi almost same lang na 4-0, hindi kami pabaya" - BennyQT when asked why their respect is different for TNC.

The top dogs of MPL Philippines Season 9 has been showing lots of potential whilst coming from different perspectives of critics and MPL fans. ECHO Philippines- who was deemed as the super team of the future continues to turn heads and prove that they are looking for the trophy and nothing else. Facing them are the surprises that TNC Pro Team is willing to offer to them.

The first game was as close as expected. Early game went to the hands of ECHO for the first five minutes due to ECHO winning the smallest of fights even when they were both doing the same thing at the same time. But right at the turtle take at the 6th minute- TNC swung in and immediately took it back to their favor after securing the turtle and eliminating two ECHO heroes in the process- showing how fast they can adjust on the fly. But even with the heroics and patience coming from TNC to keep their lead, the immediate impact of ECHO’s composition that is made up of durability, pickoff potential and burst got them ahead by two-thousand gold in the 13th minute. From there, it was the strength of the loud and proud orcas that secured them the first game of the series. KarlTzy bagged the MVP after having the balance on the objectives.

The second game was a different one. TNC was the one throwing the punches in the early stages of the game, even when ECHO was trying to manage to get one pickoff after another. Having Kagura as a safer option for burst potential was a concern that’s already answered. ECHO however, just simply won’t put away by being behind, they immediately worked their way up by taking in smart teamfights, maximizing their mechanics which are second to none to capitalize and lead by five-hundred gold in the sixth minute, the usual timing for the orcas to take the lead from their enemies. The calculated aggression presented by the men in purple was simply a work of art- not giving TNC a single kill in the 9 minutes of playtime up until the Lord was taken. Yawi’s Way of the Dragon Assist to his teammates probably was the biggest factor that separated themselves from the Phoenix Army.

But who can ever forget the 2v1 outplay by KarlTzy in the bottom lane around the 14th minute of the match. Eliminating SDzyz, the same player who’s using his Lancelot, his M2 Lancelot skin to wow the rest of the audience with everything that’s been happening. TNC's response? Reigniting the fire when they needed it the most. The discipline coming from these players got them to eliminate three ECHO heroes as they were able to prolong the fight and secured the Luminous Lord and the momentum to shift to their side. KurtTzy was able to take one hero off for a while, but the smart designation of work by TNC, putting SDzyz to push the side lanes opened up more space for them and managed to confuse ECHO on what to prioritize, sealing them the Luminous Lord's assistance, and the win afterwards.

For Game 3, teams went in opposite directions with TNC changing their supporting cast and ECHO putting KarlTzy on a fighter hero. The match started with Escalera being pressured by Yawi- delaying Lylia's potential to pressure in the early game. TNC making sacrificial plays to create space for the other members to get the objectives- the prized possessions of the game. Trades go from all parts of the map at the 8th minute. Benthings continues throwing the Ejector alley-oop plays to let his team do the finishing touches. ECHO managed to take the first Lord of the game. It is incredible and composed top teams that we are seeing.

But even so, it was ECHO prevailing after getting more objectives after trading for so long. It wasn't the flashiest of games, but it was their team giving an all-out effort to do their individual tasks- and they absolutely did it very well to win the series and remain undefeated.

DRAFT

GAME 1 TNC 4-12 ECHO

MVP: KARLTZY (BENEDETTA 2/1/7)

GAME 2 ECHO 11-13 TNC

MVP: KRAMM (URANUS 3/1/8)

GAME 3 TNC 4-13 ECHO

MVP: BENNYQT (BEATRIX 3/0/7)