Two rebuilding teams wish to make a statement this MPL PH Season 11. TNC yearns to look  for their first victory in this regular season, while SEA Games representative BREN Esports seeks to set their momentum early. Will TNC finally set sail on their journey to victory, or will BREN’s grit prevail greater with their redemption arc?

TNC’s bans on the first phase were focused on heroes heavy on crowd control, while BREN wanted to get rid of high-mobility heroes. Both teams relatively wanted macro heavy heroes, however BREN had more pickoff potential with the Gloo on their side. After the first phase, TNC ended up with Faramis, Claude and Hilda, three great heroes in the metagame, however they needed some crowd control to back up their damage output. For the second phase, TNC then banned the Martis and Diggie, while BREN removed the Yu Zhong and Hayabusa. BREN further secured their pickoff potential by drafting the Chou, meanwhile TNC responded by drafting the Karina and Khufra for reliable control and objective taking.

The game started with BREN having the upper hand, as they secured the first turtle without any casualties. The early game ramped up relatively slowly, as the first skirmish happened during the 4th minute. Both teams were very disciplined, choosing their fights wisely and respecting the enemies’ capabilities. In the succeeding teamfights, BREN slowly found themselves at an advantage, picking off enemy heroes without the need to trade. By the 9th minute, BREN sat comfortably with a 2,000 gold lead, with an open opportunity to secure the first Lord. Speaking of which, the Hive saw the chance to wipe out the Phoenix Army a minute later and eventually secured the Lord. BREN was able to expose TNC’s top and middle lanes, however TNC saw a glimmer of hope as Benthings was able to catch two members from the side of BREN, giving the team room to breathe. Unfortunately for TNC, they were caught off guard by BREN once again, which led to the Hive slaying the next Lord. With this, TNC’s entire base was exposed, and after a long clash by the area, BREN sieged their way into TNC’s crystal, giving the win to the Hive, 1-0.

As the teams switched sides, it was BREN who banned the pickoff and crowd control centered heroes, and TNC removed the mobile heroes. However, Fanny was up for grabs, which was secured by BREN. TNC responded by drafting the Grock and Valentina, two reliable picks for their side. BREN then took Gloo and Moskov for backline reachability and late game insurance. BREN’s second phase concluded with a Diggie and Faramis, two annoying heroes in macro gameplay, while TNC secured the Karrie and Franco for reliable pickoff and burst opportunities.

Game 2 started with TNC having the lead for their Gold lane, as Benthings landed a hook on Owgwen, drawing first blood. The Phoenix Army were then able to secure the first turtle, and they almost attempted a pickoff onto Pheww. TNC sustained their lead by the 5th minute, securing the next turtle, but BREN found ways to equalize by finding turrets to destroy. Interestingly enough, BREN slowly bounced back, finally having the capability to sustain TNC’s pick off plays and retaliate back. With the help of Super Marco’s Moskov, finding turrets to siege was no hassle for BREN. Eventually, with the map advantage of the Hive, they easily secured the 11-minute Lord. Benthings’ Franco started to lose value approaching the late game because BREN can easily counter initiate with the help of Diggie and Faramis’ ultimates. By the 15th minute, KyleTzy found Innocent in a crucial pickoff, which sparked the opportunity for BREN to siege into the base of TNC and secure the second game, 2-0.

DRAFT:

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Game 2:

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MVP: