Cignal Ultra is the New King of the MPL PH
The Newfound Strength
Four teams remain standing in the race for the Mobile Legends: Bang Bang Professional League Philippines Season 2 championship. We’ve experienced upsets, one-sided landslides, and overall just great ML:BB action during the first day of the grand finals event, but we’re not quite done yet. The 2nd and final day of the tournament will pit the remaining top PH ML:BB teams in the country against each other to determine which among them will be the next kings of Filipino Mobile Legends.
BREN Unwavering
Once again, the day of high-stakes ML:BB action was kicked off by the reigning kings of the local ML:BB scene, BREN Esports. The final upper bracket matchup between BREN and Cignal Ultra would determine which team earns the first grand finals slot.
BREN is still BREN, even in the opening game of the day, Cignal was rendered utterly helpless at the hands of a roaring BREN Esports. It’s clear to see that BREN is hungry for their second consecutive grand championship in the MPL PH.
The 2nd game showed more promise from Cignal Ultra, who were able to fight on somewhat even ground with BREN in the opening minutes of their encounter. However, BREN seized control of the match, doubling Cignal’s kill score on the board to force the opening series in to an early end with a immaculate 2-0 victory. BREN Esports advance to the grand finals bracket, awaiting the results of the rest of the teams.
Dispelling the Imbalance
The second match of the day featured the lower bracket semifinals between two of the sleeper teams in the entire league. Both SxC Imbalance and Finesse Solid persevered from the lower rungs of the league ladder, in no small part due to their amazing team fighting and compositions.
The first game kicked off in an unexpected manner with both teams playing cautiously, as if biding their time while measuring their opponents, contrary to the common early game blitz plays famous in the league. The teams soon reach stalemate in a slow game 1, but Finesse Solid soon remind their opponents and everyone watching just how they made it to this stage of the tournament, with amazing team fight calls and executions. Finesse walk away with the first game win to force SxC Imbalance into a corner.
Finesse came back in the second game with renewed strength and focus as they completely shut out SxC Imbalance, extinguishing their hopes of ever making it to the grand finals. Finesse Solid once again come out with a beautifully executed series to earn a spot in the lower bracket finals where Cignal Ultra is waiting for them.
Reversed Cignal
With barely any time to rest, the teams geared up once more to take the stage in the dreaded lower bracket final. Winning here would mean a one-on-one date with BREN Esports in the grand finals of the tournament. Cignal Ultra only fell to the lower bracket in the first series of day 2. Finesse Solid, on the other hand, has been fighting tooth and nail for every right to challenge the top ranking Mobile Legends:Bang Bang team in the country.
The first game was a site to see for all present. It kicked off with a close match with both teams securing pick offs on unsuspecting isolated members on the enemy team. Things took a turn for the worse for Cignal Ultra once Finesse Solid’s Karl on the Kimmy carry pick started to produce amazing results. Cignal Ultra soon found themselves outclassed in damage output and team fight performance, culminating in a chaotic base race that netted a game 1 win for Finesse Solid.
Cignal Ultra were not about to let their chance to have a rematch with BREN Esports slip away from their hands. They take the chance to look in Kimmy in the second game, hoping to replicate the immense success that Finesse Solid enjoyed in the first game. What resulted was Cignal giving Finess Solid a run for their money with better team fighting and shot calling than in their first game. Finesse Solid did their best to hold off the Cignal siege, going so far as to force a high-stakes team fight in the bot lane. Things were looking good for Finesse for moments in the team fight, save for the fact that the Cignal-secured Lord was barreling down the middle lane ready to knock a few chunks out of the Finesse Solid base. The second game closes with Cignal Ultra keeping their dreams alive as they push the series to an even 1-1.
It figures that one of the toughest series in the tournament would come down to the wire. Cignal Ultra looked like a completely different team in the game three decider. Finesse Solid were pummeled into helplessness against a Cignal Ultra that finally found the right pieces to make their strategies work. Cignal had Finesse’s number at every turn of the fight, resulting in a crushing game 3 defeat for the wily lower bracket heroes, Finesse Solid.
Cignal Ultra will return to the stage in a rematch against BREN Esports in the only series that matters, the tournament’s grand finals.
The Ultimate Rematch
BREN and Cignal Ultra meeting up on the MPL stage once more is their first rematch in the MPL playoffs but the teams have history drawing from the first ever MPL PH. BREN and Cignal Ultra have met in a grand finals before, only under different team banners in the inaugural season of the MPL. Now they’ll clash for a second consecutive season in a best-of-five MPL PH grand finals to determine which team deserves the title of the country’s strongest Mobile Legends: Bang Bang team.
The grand finals kicked off in amazing fashion for the challengers, Cignal Ultra. They took control of the game in the early and mid game phases but it turned out that BREN was only biding their time. The devious Kimmy pick rears its ugly head once more as BREN’s carry turns over multiple team fights in the late game to turn the tide in their favor. The first game closes with a 22-17 BREN victory to put the match on an early 1-0.
Cignal Ultra did not fight all the way to the grand finals after losing in the inaugural season just to get swept by BREN. Cignal got their hands on the Kimmy in the second game and looke to turn the disruptive pick into a golden ticket to equalize the series. Most teams crumble when put into a disadvantage owing to the sheer difficulty of playing from behind a dominant team, but BREN somehow still manage to execute team fights while disregarding such deficits. However, Cignal Ultra earn their position in the grand finals as they prove to all just how they made it to the finals. Cignal Ultra force their way into the series to tie it up 1-1.
It takes the third game in the series for one team to finally put the ban hammer on the Kimmy. The absence of the disruptive factor of the powerful carry pick leaves both teams with more room to play around with their strategies, and that’s exactly what Cignal Ultra did in the third game. Despite struggling for most of the game and being pushed into their own base with no turrets remaining, Cignal Ultra pull off a miraculous Lord defense and counter siege. BREN were repelled in the last moments of the game and were sent scattered running for the hills. This gave Cignal Ultra the opportunity to claw at every possible advantage they could seize. BREN’s members continued to drop one by one even through respawns, leading to a very convincing 20+ minute game win for Cignal Ultra, pushing the series to 2-1 and into match point.
The bans on the dangerous picks in the tournament continue into the fourth game of the grand finals. The early minutes erupt in chaotic fights on the map as both teams try their earnest to secure any inch of advantage. The game turns dire for BREN Esports as they are brought to the brink of ruin by superb team play from the Cignal Ultra camp. The score stands at 15-7 in favor of Cignal Ultra at 13 minutes of play. Cignal Ultra continue to apply on the pressure and power through minor mistakes that cost them a few teammates. BREN Esports proves unable to hold back the rampaging Cignal Ultra as the challengers force their way into the BREN base. The game collapse accompanied by the howling applause of the thunderous crowd as Ccignal Ultra is crowned the grand champions of the MPL PH Season 2!
Cignal Ultra will walk away with the massive $25,000 grand cash prize as well as the bonus crowdfunded $8,000 prize. A new day has dawned on the local Mobile Legends: Bang Bang scene along with the crowning of the new kings.
