Jaypee Fills the Shoes of Yawi as Echo Upsets RRQ Hoshi in M4 World Championship

The Philippines (PH) representative team, ECHO, dominated one of the powerhouse teams of Indonesia (ID), RRQ Hoshi, in the M4 World Championship group stage. Despite the absence of its star player Tristan "YAWI" Cabrea, the squad was able to dominate the match thanks to its substitute player Jaypee "Jaypee" Cruz filling in as the team’s roamer. The match concluded with Alston "Sanji" Pabico earning the MVP title with eight kills, one death, and eight assists.

ECHO upsets RRQ Hoshi in the M4 World Championship group stage

RRQ Hoshi opted for the usual meta picks like Valentina and Kaja. The drafting was completed with a Benedetta, Claude, and Akai pick. ECHO also went for meta picks but were more focused on durability like Fredrinn, Yu Zhong, coupled with Yve, Karrie, and Khufra.

The early game started off slow for both teams with ECHO taking two Turtles and one turret. RRQ Hoshi played safe and focused on farming as many resources as it can. The PH squad was able to secure the first lord at the 10-minute mark, giving it the pressure it needed to push the ID squad to a big disadvantage with only the inner base turrets left. 

A teamfight occurred at the 14-minute mark which resulted in a big casualty for RRQ Hoshi and a Lord secure for ECHO. The PH squad marched and cleared all the remaining turrets of the ID squad, further pushing their lead higher.

Despite being at a massive disadvantage, RRQ Hoshi was able to hold its ground for a short while. However, ECHO was able to score another Lord kill at the 18-minute mark and ran it down to end the game with a massive kill lead of 18 kills against 7 kills by the Indonesian squad.

ECHO shall face RSG Singapore (SG) in its next match on 4th January 2023 before the scores are finalized to decide who will secure the upper bracket slots in the M4 World Championship.