Aura sends Omega to lower bracket as Work eliminates Nexplay

Aura PH delivered a clutch Game 5 performance against Season 6 runner-up Omega Esports to reach the upper bracket semifinals of the Mobile Legends: Bang Bang Professional League (MPL) Philippines Season 7 on Wednesday.

After splitting the first four games of the series, Omega looked poised to upset the higher-seeded Aura. They seized control of the early goings of Game 5, taking down all inhibitor turrets by the 17th minute while only giving up one outer turret.

But Aura held on and a crucial skirmish in the 17th minute led to takedowns of Salic "Hadjizy" Iman (Granger) and Jankurt "KurtTzy" Matria (Kagura) that helped Aura spread the map and allowed Jaymark "Lord Hadess" Lazaro (Ling) to secure the buffs for himself.

Allen "Greed" Baloy (Valir) then delivered a crucial lord steal in the 20th minute to keep Aura's hopes of a turnaround alive. By the 30th minute, Aura was already ahead in the gold tally due to superior macro strategies, always threatening a split push by Lord Hadess and making Omega reactive only to Aura's moves.

A 3-0 skirmish in favor of Aura that took down Omega's hypercarry in the 34th minute led to a Luminous Lord take. That was the final recipe needed by Aura to complete their comeback victory, closing the series 3-2.

Earlier in the day, Work Auster Force made quick work of Nexplay Esports, 3-1, in the lower bracket to stay alive and eliminate their opponents in the playoffs.

Initially, it looked promising for fan-favorite Nexplay as they completed an impressive comeback against Work, who dominated Game 1 right until the end.

But a lord steal by Dexter "Exort"  Martinez (Lunox) in the 17th minute helped Nexplay gain more map control and take down all outer turrets. Unravel (Jawhead) then committed a miscalculated zoning in the jungle leading to an easy pickoff in the 19th minute, followed by an overextension of Frediemar "3Martzy" Serafico (Pacquito) on the top lane.

That initiated a clash where John Paul "H2wo" Salonga (Ling) completed a maniac, dissipating the opposing defense and snatching the win.

Work then regrouped and made sure to completely dominate their rivals in the lower-brack as the Season 7 rookies finished Nexplay in 12 mins in Game 2. They never looked back from there taking Game 3 and 4 in one fell swoop.

—MGP, GMA News