KUALA LUMPUR — Reigning Kings of Southeast Asia, Smart Omega, continued their lower bracket meta with a series win against home country bet, Orange Esports, 3-2, during the lower bracket quarter finals of the Mobile Legends: Bang Bang Southeast Asia Cup (MSC) 2022 at the Malaysia International Trade and Exhibition Centre.
Game One saw both teams trading objectives, leads and clashes but eventually a clash initiated by Orange Esports saw the home team picked off one by one with Smart Omega drawing first blood with a 26-21 win after a little over 27 minutes.
The winning momentum was wasted, however, as Smart Omega's overextension on clashes on Game Two saw them being punished brutally by the Malaysian team.
With three heroes down on the side of the Barangay, Orange Esports easily took the lord and eventually the game, 12-16 in 12 minutes and 31 seconds.
Orange Esports then continued to dismantle Smart Omega's game play, securing objectives in Game Three despite the kill lead on the Filipino side.
The defending champions managed to prolong the match after all their turrets had been destroyed by the 16th minute but the Malaysian gamers once again secured the lord by the 18th minute and marched to the enemy base to propel themselves to match point, 20-22.
The do-or-die match for Smart Omega saw the Filipino team back to their roots with favored heroes. From beginning to end, Smart Omega was in full control and as they charged towards the Malaysian base, Grant "Kelra" Duane Pillas lived up to his nickname of the "Filipino Savage" by earning the first Savage, a five-man kill, of the tournament and forcing the decider with an 18-4 win after 14 minutes.
Knowing there was no room for any mistakes, Smart Omega started Game Five with pure aggression taking an early 5-1 lead in the first four minutes of the game, setting the pace for the entire match with Smart Omega controlling the map and eventually eliminating the last host country team from the tournament, 18-4.
Speaking about the series, Pillas felt as though he was underestimated by their opponents when Orange Esports did not ban signature hero Beatrix during all five matches.
"Kasi wala silang respeto sa akin akala nila mahina ako." he said.
He continued on to say that even though Beatrix was left open in Game Five, he chose to go with Irithel as he did not want to risk his entire team's draft which was proven true as they secured their continued survival in the tournament.
Smart Omega will face dark horse Falcon Esports from Myanmar in the lower bracket semi-finals, Saturday, June 18.