Cover-Credits:
RSG PH’s upset against Blacklist International surprised fans during the seventh week of the Mobile Legends: Bang Bang Professional League (MPL) Philippines (PH) Season 9. Shortly after the series ended, fans started criticizing the Kingslayers with some believing that the team intentionally lost the match. RSG PH’s head coach, Brian “Panda” Lim debunked these accusations, stating that as professional players, the team will never consider the idea of intentionally throwing a match. “I’ve been a coach for three years and everyone knows that I’m a man of discipline and professionalism, and there’s no way that I will accept the idea that I will throw this game because Blacklist and RSG are 'besties’,” he said in an interview with Spin.PH.
He also apologized to the fans who were disappointed in the team’s performance but asked fans to avoid disrespecting the players. “Just because the end result or the performance wasn’t satisfying, please don’t assume negative ideas or skip to conclusions,” said Panda.
Coach Panda explains RSG PH’s situation during Game 2 against Blacklist International
One of the frequently asked questions revolved around RSG PH’s star jungler Jonard Cedrix “Demonkite” Caranto’s inability to contest the Turtle against Blacklist International. Through an interview by Spin.PH, coach Panda shared his observations on why he thinks it was hard for the team to secure the Turtle.
“In Game 2, Demonkite was using Lancelot and it was really hard for him to contest the Turtle because Edward’s Uranus was giving him a hard time,” Panda said. “We also had five melee heroes, so fighting against the long-range heroes like Beatrix, Valir, Chou Pos 4, Ling, and Uranus, was actually really hard for us.”
Demonkite is one of the best junglers in the MPL PH. However, he was simply at a disadvantage, more so as Kiel Calvin “OHEB” Soriano was in control of Beatrix, one of his best marksman heroes.
Coach Panda also explained why Dylan “Light” Catipon’s Masha went all out and challenged a 1v5 duel against Blacklist International, which did not work in favor of RSG PH.
“You guys need to know the nature of Masha. Once you have 1 or 2 items, you really need to aim the backlines like the Beatrix and in that situation, Light was the only one who can really aim the backline because Demonkite was getting zoned by the Uranus,” the RSG PH coach said.
The coach further added that fans can simply criticize what they see in the matches but they can’t see the mental process as to why the players made those in-game decisions.
Despite losing against Blacklist International, RSG PH retained its number spot on the MPL PH Season 9 leaderboard. The team aims to defend its spot in the eighth and final week of the regular season against ONIC PH on 9th April.
Keep up with the live scores, schedule, stream links, and more with AFK Gaming's hub for the MPL PH Season 9.
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