After years of struggling in mediocrity, the Sonics have finally claimed their MPL throne.
History has been made as Fnatic ONIC PH, after multiple seasons of rebuilding and refocusing, are now the MPL PH S14 champions. They were pushed to their absolute limit by Aurora Gaming, bringing the whole series to a full seven games.
The two teams did meet each other earlier in the playoffs at the upper bracket semifinals. There the match wasn’t even close as Fnatic ONIC decisively swept Aurora 3-0. They even got the fastest game win in the season against Aurora in that series at 9:34 minutes.
Yet Aurora was able to tap into the veterency and experience of their players and bounce back hard. They took down Blacklist International and former world champions Falcons AP.Bren for the grand finals rematch. While they couldn’t complete their revenge, they proved why they deserve to go to M6 along with the champions.
With this victory, Fnatic ONIC are finally returning to the world championships as our first seed together with Aurora as our second. The last time the Sonics appeared in the M series was in 2021, where they finished second against Blacklist. The M6 World Championship will be taking place in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, later this December.
This has been a long time coming for Fnatic ONIC as they’ve been stagnating in the middle of the standings ever since their 2021 World Championship run concluded. The last six seasons have been them trying to recapture that magic and after multiple heartbreaks, they’ve finally done it.
Among the team, none deserve this achievement more than Grant “Kelra” Pilas. After years of being called the best Gold Laner in the Philippines, he finally has a championship to back up his title.
A New Chapter in MLBB Esports
As Fnatic ONIC crown themselves the MPL PH S14 champions, we’ve now entered a new era for MLBB esports. With Falcons AP.Bren getting knocked out in third place, we are guaranteed to have a new MLBB world champion.
Speaking of new champions, this grand finals was the first finals since season nine where we were guaranteed a new MPL PH champion. It’s also the second time in the history of the MPL that the grand finals went to seven games.
Fnatic ONIC also has the distinction of holding the new regular season winning streak record of 13 games. Yet the team can’t rest just yet as they have their eyes set on loftier goals. “Chapter one, done. On to the next,” said Fnatic ONIC’s coach Anthony “YnoT” Senedrin in the postgame interview. “It’s ESL Snapdragon, and then M6. Dynasty ang habol namin.”
Banner photo from MOONTON Games.