Cover-Credits:
The second day of the Mobile Legends: Bang Bang Professional League (MPL) Philippines (PH) Season 9 Week 4 saw Nexplay EVOS continue to surprise its fans as its lineup of formidable pro players executed impressive drafting strategies. Nexplay’s opponent, TNC Pro Team stood firm throughout the match series and even opened up a third deciding match in hopes of clutching a victory. However, Nexplay EVOS’ amateur standouts pulled off impressive feats leading to a 2-1 match score, in favor of Nexplay EVOS. Through a post-match conference, the amateur standouts of Nexplay EVOS expressed how much of a brother figure John “H2wo” Paul Salonga was and how the veteran jungler was crucial to the rookies’ growth as Mobile Legends pro players.
Nexplay EVOS’ rookies continue to shine in the MPL PH Season 9
With a solid drafting phase, Nexplay EVOS was able to gain the upper hand with Rainiel “URESHIII” Logronio’s Valentina and Jeniel “YellyHaze” Bata-Anon’s Selena. TNC Pro Team stood firm trying to stall out the match but YellyHaze’s accurate arrow skill shots made Nexplay EVOS unstoppable during team fights with the added frontline presence of Kenneth "CADENZA" Castro’s Lolita. The first game of the series went in favor of Nexplay EVOS.
TNC Pro Team did not take any chances in the second game and immediately banned Valentina and Selena. With Ben "Benthings" Maglaque’s Lolita and Jomearie "Escalera" Delos Santos’s Yve taking control of each team fight, Nexplay EVOS was forced to play defensively. With a massive 10k gold lead, TNC Pro Team swept through the enemy turrets and closed the match with a solid victory in less than 14 minutes.
In the deciding match, Nexplay EVOS went for a heavy tank frontline with CADENZA’s Jawhead and URESHIII’s Esmeralda. With clinical flings from CADENZA, Nexplay EVOS was able to continuously pick off TNC Pro Team with each ambush, leading to a massive 4k gold lead. At the 20-minute mark, the match series ended with Nexplay EVOS taking the victory with a 2-1 score.
MP the King responds to fans comparing him to H2wo
Through a post-match interview, the team’s amateur jungler Michael “MP the King” Endino responded to fans comparing him to Nexplay EVOS’ veteran jungler H2wo.
“For me, both of us H2 (H2wo) are strong. It’s just that we have different playstyles and mine is more favorable in our games,” the amateur jungler explained.
MP the King further elaborated that H2wo served as his mentor and is one of the reasons why he is confident with his playstyle.
“He (H2wo) always cheers me up and helps with stuff. So, all I can say is H2wo’s playstyle is just not favorable, for now. Once the meta shifts onto H2wo, he’ll step up,” he said.
The team’s amateur roamer CADENZA echoed MP the King’s statements by saying H2wo is like a brother who looks out for them.
“He’s like our brother because he thinks of us the same, and he’s so kind and helps us all the time,” he said.
Nexplay EVOS’ amateur standouts are looking to deliver more surprises to its fans as the team will be facing ECHO on 13th March. ECHO is currently at the top of the regular season leaderboards.
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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