The Unsung Heroes of the MPL Philippines Regular Season
It’s the little things that count
While flashy outplays are always enjoyable to watch (that’s why they become easy targets for clips included in highlight reels), we find it disappointing that micro-plays and shows of game knowledge aren’t that highlighted. Even though the game might favor kill score and participation when choosing the key players of a match, that shouldn’t stop us from being able to appreciate the true MVP’s that give up their nice looking KDA’s for the sake of their team.
OG Pakbet
OBS Gaming is probably one of the most popular teams in this competition because some of their members have built a following through streaming. OG Z4pnu will probably always be the face of whichever team his in because of his exciting and entertaining aggressive playstyle. You always want to keep your eyes on him because you’ll never know what to expect. Another side effect of having a star player on your team makes it so that its a lot easier for other teammates to keep their movements lowkey despite having noticeable talent themselves.
In comes OG Pakbet, the silent killer of OBS Gaming. It’s honestly surprising he doesn’t get a lot more attention from the community despite being a very effective assassin and damage dealer from his team. I’ve seen him do insanely clean plays with his mages, particularly when he is on his Harley. OG Pakbet really shines when he’s left to play his own game because before you know it he’ll be able to cripple your team with his quick solo plays.
PG Tets
Kaisaya, shoutcaster, mythic rank player, and squad member of Digital Devils says that a great tank “knows how to protect his/her carries and really knows how his/her hero well. He/she can change her playstyle depending on the situation.” DD Pro Gaming is a really strong team with members like Yakou who can steal the show with his great mechanics and unorthodox playstyle. While it’s great to have players who can carry your team, most of them need to make high-risk, high-reward plays, which obviously have a lot of drawbacks.
Only in these situations can supports like PG Tets truly shine. PG Tets doesn’t only protect his teammates, he allows them to move as freely as they want because of the quiet pressure he has on the map. His plays on Angela and Lolita really show how much he takes care of his team and how much damage he takes for them. But what truly separates him from other players is that he doesn’t only know his hero but he knows his teammates’ heroes and their playstyles as well. PG Tets isn’t only a great tank, he’s a tank his teammates can actually rely on.
AE Yuji and AE Yellyhaze
AE Main is an all-star team through and through, and that’s why it might seem like a bit of a stretch to call a couple of their members unsung heroes, we feel like the tandem of AE Yuji and AE Yellyhaze needs a lot more love than they’re getting since they are probably the most in-sync players in the whole competition.
Both of these players have extraordinary talent on their own (I’d go even as far as to say that Yellyhaze is probably the most mechanically gifted tank-user in the competition), but together they almost seem impossible to counter. AE Yuji is slippery on his own while using mobile mages like Kagura but with the support of AE Yellyhaze’s Chou, he becomes near untouchable. Their in-and-out tactics are so finely executed that it almost leaves no gaps for their opponents to retaliate. While AE Coco and AE Pein almost always excel late game, AE Yuji and AE Yellyhaze are the ones that carry them there.
