KUALA LUMPUR: Selangor Red Giants (SRG) cruised past fellow Malaysian rivals, CG Esports, in the opening round of the M7 World Championship Swiss Stage in Jakarta on Saturday.
The four-time MPL MY champions dominated the best-of-one encounter, sealing a 1-0 win in a one-sided 15-minute contest.
CG head coach Fikri Aiman “Rainn” Khidzir had said before the match that results were secondary to seeing positive gameplay from his players, but SRG allowed their opponents little room to settle.
SRG were in complete control from the laning phase through to objectives and team fights, racking up 24 kills to CG’s six.
Their superiority was underlined by an astonishing 15,000 gold lead, reflecting their dominance across every department.
Mark Genzon “Kramm” Rusiana was named Most Valuable Player after posting an impressive 3-0-16 kill-death-assist ratio and playing a key role in setting up team fights.
The main beneficiary of SRG’s control was John Vincent “Innocent” Banal, who finished with 11 kills, no deaths and five assists.
“CG had some unique hero picks and I’m happy that we were able to overcome their ‘cheesy’ strategy,” said SRG head coach Michael Angelo “Arcadia” Bocado.
“We did not drop our guard and made sure our lead never faded away, so I’m happy with my team.”
The win moved SRG into the 1-0 winners bracket, while CG dropped to the 0-1 losers bracket.
A draw later in the evening will determine both teams’ next opponents.
© New Straits Times Press (M) Bhd
