Aurora Gaming Stuns Defending Champion Team Liquid With a Sweep
M7 world champion Aurora Gaming PH stunned defending champion Team Liquid PH with a commanding 2-0 sweep during their MPL Philippines Season 18 Week 5 “Epic Rivalry” rematch at Victoria Sports Tower.
Revenge could not have been sweeter for Aurora, as they snapped Team Liquid’s seven-match winning streak and, to top it all off, delayed Team Liquid PH’s early playoff qualification.
Aurora moved up to fourth place in the standings after improving to a 5-4 record.
In Game 1, Aurora endured a slow start as Team Liquid executed a sandwich play during a six-minute top-lane ambush on Nathzz’s Gatotkaca, led by Jaypee’s Angela and KarlTzy’s Hirara, to build at least a 2,000-gold lead.
Despite Team Liquid holding the lead, Aurora stayed patient and turned the tide when Light’s Gloo landed a Split on KarlTzy’s Hirara, while Nathzz’s Gatotkaca followed up on the pickoff during the 14-minute Lord fight, allowing Koyl’s Yi Sun-shin to steal the crucial objective.
The action did not stop there, as Team Liquid attempted to run down Aurora, resulting in a 15-minute midlane skirmish where Sanji’s Zhuxin racked up a Mega Kill.
With KarlTzy defending the bottom lane against the Lord push, Aurora found an opening to take him down alongside Jaypee’s Angela after Light’s brilliant Conceal play at the 15:47 mark.
Aurora took advantage of Team Liquid’s outnumbered position to claim the Game 1 win, led by Light’s Gloo, which posted a 1-2-7 KDA with 100% kill participation.
Game 2 saw Aurora ride its momentum, remaining deathless while building a 4-0 kill lead past the 12-minute mark and taking a massive 10,000-gold advantage.
The M7 champions sealed the deal as Koyl’s Nolan used Fracture to quickly eliminate Teddy’s Melissa before taking down KarlTzy’s Hirara for a double kill during the 13-minute base siege.
Aurora Gaming capped off Week 5 with back-to-back sweeps over Smart Omega and Team Liquid PH and will look to extend its winning streak next week against AP.Bren and Team Falcons PH.
