Yawi shines as ECHO ousts defending champ RSG PH to punch M4 ticket
The ever-flamboyant Tristan “Yawi” Cabrera just fully embraced the spotlight in the biggest stage.
The veteran roamer was spectacular and carried ECHO to a commanding 3-1 victory to oust defending champion RSG Philippines in the lower bracket finals and formally punch the ticket to the M4 World Championships.
ECHO, after absorbing a sweep early in the day in the upper bracket finals against Blacklist International, leaned on the solid playmaking of Yawi who utilized signature Tank Chou in the first two games before unleashing a surprise roaming Kadita pick that proved to be the difference in the series-clinching win in Game 4.
ECHO will get its shot at bagging the MPL Season 10 trophy against two-time champions Blacklist on Sunday, Oct. 23.
After Emann carried the fight for RSG PH in Game 3, Yawi made a conscious effort to shut down the MSC 2022 MVP while SanFord also kept an eye on Demonkite during the objective team fights.
ECHO kept the pressure on the map all-game long as its core heroes quickly snowballed to close out the series.
Yawi capped the impressive show with a 4-2-8 pick on the Kadita as he notched all of the MVP honors in ECHO’s three wins.
ECHO dictated the tempo in the opening game of the series, punishing Light every time ECHO players spotted him on the map. The strategy worked to perfection as RSG couldn’t pull off the plays to get its bearings going.
Yawi on the Chou caught Demonkite’s Karina napping in the final Lord fight, initiating with Jeet Kune Do to Way of the Dragon combo of his tank Chou to pick the RSG jungler off as the rest of the defending champions fell down one by one to score the first point of the series, 17-4.
He finished with a 1-2-12 KDA while BennyQT had his free reign on his farm to unleash a perfect 8-0-6 line on the Beatrix.
Yawi showed no letup in Game 2 as despite the huge fightback from RSG PH highlighted by a Maniac from Demonkite’s Julian pick, ECHO managed to win the most crucial team fights thanks to the his Chou’s activity that made life difficult for Emann’s Melissa and Aqua’s Yve picks.
He unloaded a 2-2-8 KDA for his second MVP of the game citation on the Chou while Sanji dished out the damage from afar with a 5-3-10 scoreline on the Lylia. Karltzy contributed a 2-2-8 tally on his rarely picked jungle Barats.
After Yawi made the most impact in the first two games, RSG PH denied the veteran roamer his signature Chou with Light now getting his hands on the flexible roaming hero.
Light returned the favor and limited Yawi’s playmaking abilities by bursting him down and forcing him out of position during team fights. Without the threat of Yawi’s tank Ruby, Emann’s Claude had a free way with his engagement on ECHO backline heroes with perfectly executed Blazing Duet ultimate.