MSC 2023: ONIC Esports upsets ECHO, schedules finals clash VS Blacklist International

ONIC Esports spoiled a potential collision of two Philippine teams in the finale of the Mobile Legends: Bang Bang Southeast Asia Cup (MSC) 2023.

The Indonesian side pulled a massive upset against reigning M-series and Mobile Legends Professional League (MPL) Philippines champion ECHO via a lopsided 3-0 score in their best-of-five semifinals here at AEON Mall on Saturday, June 17.

With the stunning upset, ONIC eliminated a Filipino team in a major international ML tournament anew since their MSC 2019 triumph over ArkAngel on the latter's home soil at Araneta Coliseum.

ONIC will take on Blacklist International in the MSC 2023 finals scheduled on Sunday, June 18, at 7 p.m.

Earlier, the Codebreakers overcame host Cambodia's Burn X Flash to get another shot at securing their first-ever MSC crown.

ECHO will face Burn X Flash in the battle-for-bronze on Saturday evening.

If there is one player to mark on the ONIC Esports team, it is no other than former Blacklist International member Kairi "Kairi" Rayosdelsol.

Kairi won the MPL Indonesia Season 10 silverware and became a decorated player immediately in his debut for ONIC Esports. He became the first-ever Filipino Mobile Legends gamer to achieve such feats in the said Southeast Asian country.

Unfortunately, ONIC's too much reliance on Kairi made it easier for opponents to exploit them through him, which ECHO did during the M4 World Championship held in Indonesia last January 2023.

But this time, Kairi's teammates showed up when needed the most, disproving the myth that ONIC is purely a one-man show.

Game One saw Kairi's Fanny challenged Karl "KarlTzy" Nepomuceno's Lancelot. Despite trying his best to put pressure on ECHO in the early game, the Filipino jungler's efforts were no match to the damage output of the Orcas.

Thanks to Calvin "CW" Winata's pushing, the 17-year-old sensation got more space to operate, allowing ONIC to slowly turn the tides in their favor.

Muhammad "Butsss" Sanubari also delivered aside from CW, enabling Kairi and the rest of ONIC to engage by controlling and zoning out a key threat.

ONIC drew first blood after 17 minutes behind Kairi's 5/1/2 KDA (kill, death, and assist) record.

The ball continued to roll for ONIC in Game Two. Now, Butsss and Nicky "Kiboy" Fernando stole the spotlight.

Using Masha effectively, Sanford "SanFord" Vinuya and ECHO's backline struggled against Butsss' plays of disruption.

Kiboy's Chou also made life difficult for the Orcas. They cannot fully engage as Chou can send his targets back.

ONIC never looked back, with Butsss and Kiboy leading the way en route to a quick 14-7 victory in just 12 minutes.

In the third and final game, both sides went neck-to-neck as ONIC and ECHO had fair chances of winning.

SanFord and Tristan "Yawi" Cabrera might have hunted down key threats, but Kairi and company still got the last laugh.

ECHO's gold laner Frederic Benedict "Bennyqt" Gonzales found himself restricted as Butsss constantly charged on him with the assistance of ONIC's mid laner Gilang "SANZ", who aimed his sights on Bennyqt.

Momentum shifted the ONIC way following Kiboy's clutch play to save his wards from near defeat while wielding Khufra.

Kiboy and Butsss, the masterminds behind ONIC's Game Two win, orchestrated the series-clinching wipe in the late game to complete the sweep.

Kiboy earned the Game Three Most Valuable Player (MVP) nod with his exceptional playmaking, posting a game-high 19 assists on top of two kills and four deaths.

The unexpected elimination of ECHO from the MSC finals means the end of their successive title finishes after topping M4 and MPL Philippines Season 10.