As we pass the season’s halfway point, it’s anyone’s guess on which team will challenge Aurora’s top-place hold.
It’s been a season of changes for MPL PH S15 and with the conclusion of week four, we’re finally getting the full landscape of where each team stands. Some results are more surprising than others, such as the placing of the top four teams.
Seeing Aurora Gaming, Team Falcons PH, Team Liquid PH, and ONIC Philippines in the top four was to be expected. The ordering, however, was not as Aurora came out on top with a spotless match record. Team Liquid and Team Falcons are following closely behind while the reigning world champions ONIC lag at fourth.
The real surprise for the top half of the MPL PH S15 is how much ONIC seems to be struggling. Their games have not been pretty, even in matches where they went 2-0. ONIC’s usual confidence and decisiveness seem to have fizzled out and they’ve been trying to find it since week one.
On the other hand, Aurora’s back to showing how much of a monster they are during the regular season. Finishing the first half undefeated is no mean feat, especially when you’re in a region filled with former and current world champions.
Now the question is if they can maintain it as they had a similar trajectory last season but their cracks slowly started showing themselves towards the end.
A Brawl at the Bottom
Looking at the lower half of the MPL PH S15 standings, TNC Pro Team continues to impress with their performance. Fifth place is already a marked improvement from their consistent bottom-place finishes in previous seasons.
Many attribute their success to Tristan “Yawi” Cabrera’s leadership finally giving some semblance of order to TNC’s previously haphazard playstyle. And with the inclusion of Frederic “Bennyqt” Gonzales in the lineup, many fans are expecting great things. After all, TNC’s got two M4 world champions in their team and they’re not going to let the rest of the MPL walk all over them.
Lastly, and more interestingly, is the three-way tie at the bottom of the standings.
AP.Bren, Omega Esports, and Twisted Minds PH are all sharing a 1-6 record but anyone who’s watched their games knows that they’re far from pushovers. All three teams have shown that they can punch well above their weight but have gaps in their gameplay that hold them back.
One thing we can take away from these first-half results is that no team in MPL PH S15 is untouchable. Even with their lossless record, Aurora has lost more than a few games against lower-placed teams.
As we start approaching the end of the season, we’ll start seeing which teams at the bottom deserve a spot in the playoffs.
Banner photo from MPL Philippines.