The three-time champions are out. Aurora Gaming PH beat Team Liquid PH 4–3 in the MPL Philippines Season 18 lower bracket final on Saturday 24 October, ending Liquid's bid for a fourth straight title. Aurora take the second Philippine place at the M8 World Championship and play Team Falcons PH in today's grand final at 17:00 PHT. Liquid, champions in Seasons 15, 16 and 17, will not be at M8.
EXP laner Nathzz was named series MVP.
How the series went
| Game | Winner | Length | Series |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Team Liquid PH | 19:34 | 1–0 Liquid |
| 2 | Aurora Gaming PH | 10:38 | 1–1 |
| 3 | Team Liquid PH | 15:07 | 2–1 Liquid |
| 4 | Aurora Gaming PH | 20:45 | 2–2 |
| 5 | Aurora Gaming PH | 15:45 | 3–2 Aurora |
| 6 | Team Liquid PH | 16:52 | 3–3 |
| 7 | Aurora Gaming PH | 13:50 | 4–3 Aurora |
Liquid led twice and forced a decider, but never led once Aurora drew level at 2–2. It is Aurora's third win over Liquid this season, after a 2–0 in week 5 and a 3–1 in the upper bracket semifinal on 22 October.
Three draft stories
Aulus, then no Aulus. Liquid built around Aulus all playoffs, drafting him in every game of their sweep of ONIC and in five of these seven. They lost both games without him: in game 5 they left him unpicked, and in game 7 they banned him themselves.
Kimmy came off the ban list. Liquid banned Kimmy in each of the first five games. When they stopped, Aurora drafted her in games 6 and 7 and won the decider with her.
Two heroes never made it in. Aurora banned Paquito in all seven games, and Masha was banned in every game, always by whichever team was on red side. Hirara, nerfed in patch 2.2.16a, went the other way: Liquid banned her four times, and Aurora picked her in games 4 and 6.
Grand final today: Team Falcons PH vs Aurora Gaming PH
| Date | Time (PHT) | Match | Format |
|---|---|---|---|
| Sun, 25 Oct | 17:00 | Grand final: Team Falcons PH vs Aurora Gaming PH | Bo7 |
Both teams are already through to M8, so today is for the MPL Philippines title. It is a rematch of Friday's upper bracket final, which Falcons won 3–2 after trailing twice. Falcons have rested since Friday; Aurora come in off a seven-game series and the M7 world title they won in January. Follow it on our matches page.
Sources: results, picks and bans from the Liquipedia MPL Philippines Season 18 playoffs page (CC BY-SA 3.0); earlier head-to-head from All-Star Magazine.
