KUALA LUMPUR: Selangor Red Giants (SRG) qualified for the M7 World Championships knockout stage after a 2-1 comeback win over Team Liquid Philippines (TLPH) in Jakarta today.
The high-stakes Swiss Stage clash at the MPL Arena’s XO Hall saw the Malaysian side rally to defeat the reigning Mid Season Cup (MSC) champions.
Despite SRG gold laner John Vincent Banal, known as Innocent, securing a “Savage” (five consecutive kills), TLPH took a tense opening game.
SRG responded by winning the next two games to seal the series and secure early qualification.
The victory served as revenge for SRG, who lost to the Filipino side in the MSC grand final last August.
SRG advanced with a flawless 3-0 record in the Swiss Stage.
“We’re happy because it’s not like in M6 where we were fighting for our lives just to enter the playoffs,” said Innocent.
“This time around, our consistency has carried us to the next round”.
At the M6 in Kuala Lumpur in 2024, SRG were nearly eliminated before beating Cambodia’s CFU Gaming 2-1 in their final Swiss Stage match.
That win secured a playoff berth and an eventual third-place finish.
Match Most Valuable Player Haziq Danish Rizwan, known as Stormie, said the early qualification was welcome.
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“This is an important win as we needed to test our limits,” said Stormie.
“I’m happy with this win because we can get extra rest before the knockout rounds begin”.
The knockout rounds start on Sunday (Jan 18).
© New Straits Times Press (M) Bhd
