MPL PH Season 18 Playoffs: Falcons and Aurora March On as Team Liquid Falls to the Lower Bracket

Falcons Sweep, Aurora Stuns Liquid

The MPL PH Season 18 playoffs delivered a reality check at the PhilSports Arena in Pasig City. Team Falcons PH swept ONIC Philippines 3-0 in the upper bracket semifinals, while Aurora Gaming PH knocked defending champions Team Liquid PH down to the lower bracket with a 3-1 comeback win. Two M8 World Championship slots and a share of the $150,000 prize pool are on the line, and the bracket is suddenly wide open.

MPL PH Season 18 Playoffs: Falcons Shut Down ONIC in Three Games

Falcons were ruthless. Game 1 was a controlled macro masterclass: they pulled ahead from the midgame and closed it in under 20 minutes, with Michael "Kyle" Sayson earning MVP on Hirara with a flawless 6/0/6 line and Salic "Hadji" Imam adding 5/2/5 on Zhuxin. ONIC could not contest a single Turtle or Lord in nearly 20 minutes, which tells you everything about who dictated the pace.

Game 2 was worse for ONIC. Falcons led from the opening minutes and ended it in 14, holding ONIC to five kills. Marco "SuperMarco" Requitiano ran wild on Paquito at 9/0/4, and Hadji's 0/1/6 Rafaela earned MVP honors. Falcons' controlled aggression repeatedly caught King Cyric "K1NGKONG" Perez's Fanny, and ONIC never found a window back into the series.

Game 3 gave ONIC one last hope: a late-game draft built around Frince "SuperFrince" Ramirez's Cecilion. K1NGKONG's Aulus finished 5/1/1, but Falcons answered with a bulkier lineup, Kyle's Alice ran the team fights at 2/1/12, and ONIC once again failed to secure an objective. A 3-0 sweep, and Falcons march to the upper bracket final.

Aurora Rallies Past Defending Champions

The other semifinal was the story of the night. Team Liquid PH, the defending champions and top seed, took Game 1 against Aurora. Then Aurora took everything else. Three straight wins later, the reigning M7 world champions had sent Liquid tumbling into the lower bracket.

That result matters because Aurora are the team Liquid could not put away in the regular season, where they split 1-1. In the rematch that counted, Aurora's comeback showed a team peaking at exactly the right moment, and Liquid suddenly have no margin for error left.

What Happens Today

Two series decide the rest of the playoff picture. Team Liquid PH face ONIC Philippines in the lower bracket semifinal, a survival match where the loser is out of the tournament and out of the M8 race. Then Team Falcons PH meet Aurora Gaming PH in the upper bracket final, with the winner locking in the first Grand Final slot and a ticket to the M8 World Championship.

Full results and the updated bracket are tracked on Dot Esports' MPL PH season hub. The playoffs continue through October 25 at PhilSports Arena. The format stays double-elimination from here, with the lower bracket final and Grand Final played as best-of-seven series, so endurance and draft depth will decide as much as raw mechanics.

The Bigger Picture

This has been a volatile playoff run from the opening day, when both Day 1 series went the full five games. The Philippines keeps producing the deepest Mobile Legends field in the world, and whoever survives this bracket will carry real momentum into M8.

For context on how the Indonesian side of the region is shaping up, our MPL ID Season 18 playoffs preview covers the Surabaya bracket. And for the other end of the mobile esports calendar, the PUBG Mobile Global Open Season 2 is heading into its Lahore grand finals with $500,000 on the line. Follow MPL Philippines' official channels for streams and ticket info as the playoffs reach their climax.