Aurora captures elusive MPL crown, sets sights on historic M8 title defense
MANILA, Philippines — Aurora Gaming PH finally added a domestic championship to its growing list of accomplishments, defeating Team Falcons PH, 4-2, to capture the MPL Philippines Season 18 crown on Sunday before a sellout crowd at the PhilSports Arena in Pasig City.
For a team that entered the season under heavy scrutiny after a slow start that saw it languish in the bottom half of the standings, the triumph completed a remarkable turnaround. More importantly, it gave the reigning world champion the one trophy that had eluded the organization since its arrival in MPL Philippines.
Jan "Domeng" Delmundo was named Finals MVP after spearheading Aurora's charge in the final three games of the series, helping the Northern Lights recover from a 2-1 deficit to claim the championship.
Aurora struck first in the series behind strong objective control from Kyle "Koyl" Reyes, but Falcons answered with victories in Games 2 and 3 behind the stellar play of Michael "Kyle" Sayson, Salic "Hadji" Imam and Marco "Super Marco" Requitiano to move within two wins of the title.
The turning point came in Game 4 when Aurora unveiled a surprise Estes midlane pick for Kenneth "Yue" Tadeo. The unconventional strategy caught Falcons off guard and allowed the Northern Lights to dominate every major engagement en route to an 11-2 rout that tied the series.
"Ako, as a player, yun yung pinaka difficult part. Yung nagulat kami sa mga pick nila. Tapos nalaro nila ng maayos, dun nila na take advantage yung laro," Falcons roamer Rowgien "Owgwen" Unigo admitted after the loss.
Aurora doubled down on the strategy in Game 5, this time putting Dylan "Light" Catipon on Estes. In a wild back-and-forth contest, Delmundo shone on Chou while Reyes delivered crucial damage in the late game as Aurora secured a 21-17 victory and moved to match point.
Falcons coach Mohammad "Moody" Samal admitted Aurora's draft forced his team into a reactive approach.
"Pag ganitong match, normally you would want to ban a hero na madalas ginagamit and we fell into that trap mas nagging reactive kami [sa draft] imbis na kami yung nagging aggressive today," he said.
With Falcons forced to ban Estes in Game 6, Aurora simply found another answer.
Nathanael "Nathzz" Estrologo repeatedly started favorable engagements while Delmundo took over on Clint, racking up kills en route to a dominant performance. The Northern Lights overwhelmed Falcons from start to finish and sealed the championship with a convincing 15-2 victory.
For Aurora head coach Aniel "Master the Basics" Jiandani, the championship served as validation of the process the team adhered to despite its rocky start.
"Ito talaga yung statement na magtiwala lang talaga kayo sa proseso at systema naming, magagawa naming. ‘Di ko talaga siya inisip na aabot kami sa ganito. Gusto ko lang talaga kasi babaan yung expectation ko para hindi ganun kasakit kung anu man mangyari. Pero I think nahigitan kasi talaga ng mga boys kung anu man yung level ng practices namin, yung level na inaabot namin," he said.
The title marks Aurora's first MPL Philippines championship after previous runner-up finishes and further strengthens the team's case as the country's standard-bearer heading into the M8 World Championship in Istanbul, Turkiye.
"Sobrang saya kasi after heartbreaking seasons, kung baga, nakuha ko na ngayon. ‘Di ko talaga ini-expect kasi nga, galing kaming bottom eight at the start of the season. Walang nageexpect, dami nag doubt. Kami talaga nag trust process lang with our coaches. Actually hindi talaga naming ineexpect ito, ang target lang naming maka M8 and kung baga bonus ito," said Delmundo.
Tadeo also celebrated his long-awaited first MPL title.
"Sobrang saya sa feeling, kasi after four or five grand finals appearances ko, ngayon ko lang nakamit yung first MPL PH champion ko. So, sobrang saya, especially sa, sa team ko din, hindi lang sa akin, kung baga first trophy rin ng org," he said.
With both Aurora and Falcons already qualified for M8, attention now shifts to January's world championship in Istanbul, where the former will attempt to become the first team in MLBB history to successfully defend an M-Series crown. The latter, meanwhile, hopes to win its first title as an organization.
Both teams will also carry the Philippines' hopes of extending the country's remarkable reign atop MLBB's biggest stage and defend the "PH era", with Filipino squads having won every M-Series championship since M2.
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