In what would be the most unexpected upset of the season, the Manila Aguilas (MLE or Eagles as they are known internationally) defeated the then-invincible Taipei Assassins in their match last June 3, 2012 for the Garena Premier League, Asia’s first ever fully professional League of Legends league.
With a first place title at the Garena Community Shield (GPL Opening Ceremonies) and five consecutive wins in the first two weeks of the League, the Taipei Assassins were expected by many to easily sweep through their match with the Aguilas and thus secure their sixth win. But the tides of fate shifted as the Philippines’ representative, regarded by many as one of the underdogs, gave an impressive show of skill and teamwork ultimately defeating the feared Assassins.
MATCH SUMMARY
The first 10 minutes of the game went by quickly and quietly with no kills being picked up by either team. In the end it was the Assassins who drew first blood with a brilliant play by TPA Bebe (Vayne) that took advantage of MLE Solyndra (Alistar) teleporting to base and leaving Graves to fend for himself. Fortunately for the Aguilas, MLE Misery (Maokai) was able to salvage the situation by catching Vayne as she attempted to retreat.
At the 13 minute mark the Aguilas made a great decision to take a 5-man dragon as TPA Stanley (Jarvan) was busy farming at the top lane. Beyond that, the action simmered down until the second dragon where the Aguilas displayed a tremendous level of teamwork and focus that smashed TPA’s front line earning them the dragon and four kills.
The next key battle took place as TPA attempted to kill the baron. Their attempt was spotted early by the Aguilas who swiftly intervened. Though TPA was able to kill baron they lost 3 players in the ensuing battle effectively rendering the baron buff useless.
In the minutes that followed, both teams returned to the lanes to lick their wounds and prepare for another battle. As the second baron respawned, TPA tried to secure it once again but this time the results were even more disastrous. The entire MLE team caged them in the baron area scoring an ace and grabbing baron with only a single casualty. With the momentum from the last battle MLE drove straight through the middle inhibitor killing four of TPA leaving only Vayne to defend the nexus in vain.
By being the first team to defeat the unstoppable Taipei Assassins, all eyes are now on the Manila Aguilas as they blaze their way from underdogs to giant-killers!
Will the Aguilas be able to keep their momentum? Or will they fail? Watch the Manila Aguilas every week via the GPL live broadcast as they try take back their honor and put the Philippines back into the eSports world map.
Tune in to the Garena PH Official Youtube Channel (youtube.com/phgarena), the Garena Premier League official website (gpl.garena.com) or on the official Manila Aguilas website (www.aguilas.ph) for the latest match schedules and results.