JOHOR BARU: JP Niners coach Muh Firmansyah "Antagonisst" Pratama's trash talk backfired after a fired-up Red Esports crushed them 3-0 at the play-in stage of the Mobile Legends: Bang Bang (MLBB) Professional League Malaysia (MPLMY) playoffs at the EduCity Sports Complex in Iskandar Puteri on Thursday.
Prior to the match, Firmansyah had done an interview in which he dismissed the Red players.
The "Antagonisst" really antagonised the Red team, and the latter used this as motivation to raise their game and trounce their opponents.
Red coach Abraham Beltran "Bam" Unida said he was not sure if his team could perform like they did - until he heard the interview.
"I told my players this is the motivation for us to beat them. We need to beat them 3-0," the Filipino coach said.
Red will meet Team Vamos in the upper-bracket semi-final on Friday.
"We are happy to move on to the playoffs. In the regular season we lost against Vamos and this is our chance to avenge that defeat.
"I believe we will give them a good fight," Abraham Beltran added.