Fnatic ONIC Philippines' Duane “Kelra” Pillas. Moonton Games
Layla made a grand first impression in the M-series, thanks to Fnatic ONIC Philippines' Duane “Kelra” Pillas.
The pick made waves across the esports community, but ultimately, it was one of the keys for ONIC's pounding of North American powerhouse BloodThirstyKings (BTK), 2-1, to secure a berth in the Knockout Stages of the M6 World Championship, Sunday in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia.
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It was the first time Layla was chosen and used in the world championship stage.
Kelra's clean 5-0-4 performance on Layla in Game 1, alongside his 11-1-5 output on Irithel in Game 3 propelled the Super Family to defeat jungler Michael "MobaZane" Cosgun's squad.
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However, BTK's resolve was there, tarnishing the Pinoy squad's record for the first time in the Swiss Stage as Kelra and company fell to the Americans in Game 2.
Game 3 was a show of brute force for ONIC, dominating the map since the third minute as they established a remarkable gold lead. They capped the sweet victory with a "maniac" on the gold laner, wiping out BTK members.
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Fnatic ONIC PH joined fellow Southeast Asian squad RRQ Hoshi as the only teams to secure a spot to the next round as of writing.