ECHO rules M4 group stage, secures upper bracket bonus

MANILA, Philippines — ECHO Philippines secured the top spot in Group C of the M4 World Championship after a dominating 3-0 run in the group stages.

After their statement win against the King of Kings, RRQ Hoshi of Indonesia, last January 2, the Orcas outplayed and overpowered Middle East and North Africa champions Occupy Thrones, 19-5, thanks to San-San duo Alston "Sanji" Pabico and Sanford "Sanford" Vinuya, with Pabico's 13 kills assists and Vinuya's MVP pick-offs.

With the upper bracket advantage on the line, ECHO's last matchup against Singaporean champions RSG SG saw the return of Tristan "Yawi" Cabrera in the roamer role after sitting out the Orca's first two games. According to Coach Archie “Tictac” Reyes, the switch was part of the plan to remain unpredictable

ECHO did not leave any room for mistakes as they ruled objectives and team fights throughout the 15-minute match against RSG SG. A lord dance seemed to spell yet another huge team fight that the Singaporeans wanted to take advantage of, but Benedict “Bennyqt” Gonzales orchestrated a back-door move to close out the game and saw the Orcas with an undefeated group stage run.

The winning call came from former M2 MVP Karl “Karltzy” Nepomuceno.

"Ako po talaga unang nag call nun kaso parang itutuloy nila yung lord kaya nag pull back ako tapos sinabihan nila ako i-segue ko na lang," shared Nepomuceno during his post-match interview.

Securing the match MVP was Cabrera, who was overjoyed not just with the recognition but more with the win and with securing the upper bracket advantage in his debut game. 

"Sobrang saya po kasi marami po nangyayari lalo na sa akin pero focus lang, di ko [naman] hinahap ang MVP gusto ko lang manalo," Cabrera said.

ECHO Philippines will face Malaysia champions Team HAQ in the upper bracket of the knockout stages on January 7 at 7 p.m. (Manila time).