'Gold standard' Kelra stars as Fnatic ONIC stuns Team Liquid ID to rule M6 World Championship

KUALA LUMPUR---The Philippines is still on top. 

Fnatic ONIC dominated Team Liquid Indonesia in a one-sided affair, 4-1, to reign supreme in the Mobile Legends: Bang Bang M6 World Championship grand finals at the Axiata Arena in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia. 

The Filipinos thus completed a title sweep, going undefeated in seven games played on the way to deliver the country's fifth straight M-series title. Prior to this, the Philippines had been sitting on the throne since the M2 edition in 2021 until M5 last year in Manila. 

Gold laner Duane "Kelra" Pillas starred from the get-go with his Bruno pick in Game 1 and Game 2, both of which saw the reigning MPL Philippines champions finish off the Indonesians in a matter of 15 minutes or less.

Kelra allowed Fnatic ONIC to turn things around in the series opener after Team Liquid secured the first few objectives, getting the first turtle and destroying two turrets on the side of Onic. 

But a triple kill from Kelra set the stage for a Fnatic ONIC Game 1 dominance, drawing first blood in 14 minutes and three seconds. 

Nothing pretty much changed in Game 2 with Fnatic ONIC drafting the same heroes except for Cyric "K1NGKING" Perez' Fredrinn and Jann "Kirk" Gutierrez' Cici on the jungle and exp lane. But it was Kelra who stole the show anew, leading a wipeout as early as the 6th minute as he cruised to a second MVP honors. 

But Team Liquid ID made a huge adjustment, opting to ban Bruno and Luo Yi and forcing Kelra and mid laner Frince "Super Frince" Ramirez to go with Harith and Cecilion in Game 3. 

TLID's Carmilla and Hilda picks, though, made life difficult for Fnatic Onic with roamer Widy's Carmilla proving to be the crucial one during the last team fight that allowed them to wipe out the Filipinos en route to the victory. 

Knowing the threat brought by Kelra, TLID prioritized banning his comfort heroes with Irithel, Wanwan, and Bruno in Game 4. 

However, Beatrix was left open and Kelra, known for his masterful use of this marksman hero, took advantage of the opportunity and unloaded a perfect 8/0/5 KDA as they marched to the match point. 

Both teams went back and forth in Game 5, but a crucial lord pickoff before the 13th minute allowed Fnatic ONIC to mount a siege which the Indonesians were able to hold off. It however, set the stage for the game-winning play for the Philippines. 

While his teammates were figuring in a clash, Kelra decided to focus on the base and single-handedly go for a tower lock, but Team Liquid took down three players from Fnatic ONIC to launch a last-gasp defense. 

Unbothered, Kelra finished it off on his Irithel with the help of the minions, dropping six kills and seven assists against two deaths to win it all for the Philippines for the fifth consecutive time. 

"Sinundan ko lang 'yung play. Tinanong ko rin sila. Sabi ko lang nu'ng una, nu'ng nagti-teamfight, na tatapusin ko," Kelra explained in the post-game press conference. 

"Tapos hindi na ako nag-hesitate no'n na tapusin. Nawalan lang ako ng creeps tapos nu'ng nakita ko na may creeps na ulit, bumalik ako." 

Fnatic ONIC's victory made them join a growing list of Philippine world champions alongside Falcons AP. Bren, Blacklist International, and Echo (now Team Liquid Philippines).

—JKC, GMA Integrated News