Team Liquid Philippines (TLPH) sped toward the semifinals of the Mobile Legends: Bang Bang Mid Season Cup (MLBB MSC) 2025 after a 3-0 stomping of Aurora Türkiye (AUR) last July 30 at the Amazon Arena in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia.

Three blue shirts shared the MVP plum throughout the series, with gold laner Kiel “Oheb” Soriano on target in Game 1 with a deathless 10/0/5 performance as Granger.  

Jaypee Gonzales “Jaypee” dela Cruz etched a 2-0-4 KDA (kills-deaths-assists) and a 100% kill participation as Matilda in Game 2. Alston “Sanji” Pabico took over in the closer with a 3-3-5 scoreline using Pharsa.

“We are more confident and we were able to prepare more properly,” Pabico said in Filipino, referring to their five-day break before the playoffs. 

In the series opener, the Filipino cavalry shut the lights out for Aurora with a towering 19-2 kill score and a 15,000-gold lead in just under 13 minutes of play. They pushed the pace even faster in Game 2 with a Maniac from Soriano’s Granger to disintegrate four AUR players in the final teamfight to lift the team up to series point.

After a nip-and-tuck situation early in Game 3, Team Liquid steadied their lead after a triple kill from Sanford “Sanford” Vinuya’s Cici in a botlane skirmish tipped the balance on their side seven minutes in.

Securing the Lord at the 14th minute, Team Liquid picked off Aurora’s Furkan “APEX47” Akbulut and Mehmet “Lunar” Ilgun to clean up every Aurora tower off the map. 

Team Liquid wrote off Aurora’s final rites at the 18th minute with a Lord Dance with a well-placed “Feathered Airstrike” from Pabico’s Pharsa splitting the Turkish squad that resulted to a 3-0 teamfight win for TLPH and a push in the mid lane to seal the win. 

Humble in victory 

Despite the win, Pabico remained firm on his stance with Aurora’s mid laner, Ahmet “Rosa” Batır, being the better mage user between them.

Asked how ranked himself among the tournament’s mid laners, the 19-year-old Filipino saw himself at the back. “Still at the end [of the line], just keep on being humble.”

Behind such humility was the team’s efforts for redemption from last year’s finish when they fell in the semifinals against fellow Filipino squad Falcons-AP.Bren, 1-3. 

“We learned from last year,” Pabico said. “We now practice to the fullest, we are giving it our all.” 

They would need the preparations when they face ONIC Indonesia once more, this time for a spot in the grand finals on Aug. 1. TLPH defeated ONIC in the group stages, taking a close 2-1 victory to advance in the playoffs.   

In the opposing camp, Filipino jungler Kairi “Kairi” Rayosdelsol echoed the same sentiments about the rematch. “I think all of the [ONIC] players want to meet Team Liquid again. They’re like one of the strongest teams in this tournament.” 

The Sky King cited TLPH’s Karltzy as the top jungler of the league before saying: “After I beat him, I’ll become No. 1.”

Read more: Team Liquid PH crush Ultra Legends in MLBB Mid Season Cup 2025 opener