JOHOR BARU: Selangor Red Giants (SRG) made history as the first team to clinch back-to-back Mobile Legends: Bang Bang (MLBB) Professional League Malaysia (MPLMY) titles today (Nov 3).
They achieved this by dispatching Team Vamos 4-2 in the Season 14 playoffs Grand Finals at EduCity Sports Complex in Iskandar Puteri.
Despite the huge LED screen behind the players going dark, SRG still won the first game, but Vamos struck back immediately to level the match 1-1.
The Mid Season Cup champions then took control of the match, surging to a two-game lead, winning the third and fourth games.
Poor hero selection in game five put SRG on the back foot, and Vamos capitalised to clinch the fifth game, making the score 3-2.
Vamos made the Grand Finals with a flawless run through the upper bracket, while SRG had to take the long way around through the lower bracket.
In spite of this, SRG cemented their status as the No. 1 team in Malaysia by clinching the sixth game for a 4-2 victory.
SRG head coach Michael Angelo "Arcadia" Bocado emphasised the importance of staying composed mentally for this match.
"We're used to big pressure moments like MSC and last season's MPLMY playoffs Grand Finals," said Michael Angelo in a post-match interview.
"So we just made sure we stayed calm throughout."
He added that despite getting dominated in Game 2 and 5 the team was never really concerned by it.
"We knew what we needed to adjust, and we just made sure that we capitalise on the strategy that we wanted to use against them. So yes, we still felt confident after losing the games.
"In Game 5, we could not ban their favourite hero and got punished for it, so we made sure we denied them the opportunity to use the same character in the next game," he added.
Mid-laner Hazziq "Stormie" Danish, who was named Grand Finals Most Valuable Player (MVP), is speechless over the team's triumph.
"This is the first time that a team has gone back-to-back and we are proud of ourselves for making history," said the 19-year-old.
"I'm proud of myself for being named series MVP, and this completes my award collection.
"I was the regular season MVP previously, I was named in the dream team, and now Grand Finals MVP."