Aurora outlasts TLPH in 7-game thriller to reach MPL PH grand finals, books M8 spot

Photo from MPL Philippines MANILA — Aurora Gaming PH (RORA) clinched the second grand finals spot in the MPL Philippines Season 18 after outlasting Team Liquid Philippines (TLPH) in a seven-game thriller, 4-3, on Saturday.

With the victory, they also secured their spot in the M8 World Championships.

The Northern Lights gear up once again for the world championships after representing the banner for three consecutive M-series appearances.

The defending M-series champions overcame multiple momentum swings against the defending MPL PH champions, with both squads trading comeback victories before RORA prevailed in the deciding game to keep its title defense alive.

RORA will face Team Falcons PH in Sunday’s grand finals, with both finalists securing qualification to the M8 World Championships.

TLPH opened the series with a comeback victory in Game 1 after RORA controlled the early objectives, securing all three Turtles and the first two Lords.

The Cavalry regained momentum through a crucial four-for-one team fight before capitalizing on a successful third-Lord engagement. TLPH eliminated three opponents without losing a player, then pushed through the mid lane to complete the comeback.

RORA responded emphatically in Game 2, delivering a one-sided performance to equalize the series with a 10-minute, 40 second victory.

TLPH regained the lead in Game 3 through another comeback, overcoming RORA’s early objective control. After RORA secured the first three Turtles, TLPH turned the tide in successive team fights, with Dave “Teddy” Viaña and Jaypee “Jaypee” Dela Cruz delivering crucial engagements to swing the game.

The Cavalry eventually wiped out RORA during a Lord fight before ending the game to take a 2-1 series lead.

RORA answered with a dominant Game 4, with Nathanael “Nathzz” Estrologo opening every engagement with his Barats, as they repeatedly secured objective control and forced TLPH to defend its base against successive Lord pushes.

Although TLPH held off several advances, RORA eventually broke through after winning a decisive fight around the evolved Lord, eliminating four opponents without a trade to level the series at 2-2.

The Northern Lights carried their momentum into Game 5, maintaining an early advantage throughout a one-sided contest to move ahead, 3-2.

Facing elimination, TLPH forced a deciding seventh game with a convincing Game 6 performance. Despite RORA securing two early turtles, the Cavalry took control after claiming the first Lord and winning a skirmish near the blue buff, eliminating three opponents for one casualty.

TLPH pressed its advantage toward RORA’s inhibitor turrets before completing the victory to tie the series at 3-3.

With a grand finals berth on the line, both teams delivered an evenly matched final game, finishing with eight kills apiece.

RORA, however, secured the more decisive advantages in the objectives, claiming two Lords. The Northern Lights also edged the Cavalry in towers destroyed, 5-4, while finishing with 42,476 gold against TLPH’s 39,603.

Kyle “Koyl” Reyes and Nathzz spearheaded RORA’s attack with three kills each, While Kenneth Carl “Yue” Tadeo provided six assists without recording a death. Jan Dominic “Domeng” Del Mundo also contributed six assists as RORA secured the series-clinching victory.

For TLPH, Karl “KarlTzy” Gabriel Nepomuceno and Teddy each recorded three kills, but the Cavalry could not translate their offensive output into the objective control needed to complete another comeback.

The 4-3 victory sends RORA to the MPL PH S18 Grand Finals against Team Falcons PH, while ending TLPH’s campaign for another league championship.

With the title and international qualification at stake, RORA will now look back to complete its playoff run against FLCN in Sunday’s championship showdown.