SINGAPORE (UPDATED) - Onic Philippines are through to the upper bracket playoffs of the third Mobile Legends: Bang Bang World Championships (M3) in Singapore, after ending the "Group of Death" with a 2-1 record.

After falling to Indonesian counterparts Onic Esports in their opening match, they went on to win their other matches against Malaysia's Todak and Brazil's Vivo Keyd to secure the last slot on the upper bracket.

The group was described as the "group of death" as it paraded players from different MPLs, particularly that of Mobile Legends powerhouses Philippines and Indonesia.

Onic PH vs. Onic Indonesia

Onic PH were aggressive and poised to win the match as they started their campaign, with Kairi "Kairi" Rayosdelsol and Mark Christian "Markyyyyy" Etcobañez drawing kill after kill and applying pressure down the lanes to shut down their Indonesian counterparts.

But as Onic PH gathered down the Lord area, Onic Indonesia were there to react, with Kiboy's Khufra poking out Onic PH's damage dealers, with Drian's Beatrix eventually stealing the lord which spelled the death knell for Onic Philippines in their opening match.

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Reflecting on the loss against Onic Indonesia, team captain Allen "Baloy" Baloyskie admitted that their Indonesian counterparts were able to execute their counterattacks well.

"Actually nung nagsi-scrimmage kami, nangyayari siya sometimes talaga, and nagplay naman kami nang maayos. 'Yon lang na-execute nang maayos ng Onic Indonesia ang counter-attack nila, which is 'yong specialty nila. So ayon," Baloyskie said.

Onic PH vs. Todak (Malaysia)

Onic PH were able to bounce back with a show-stopping win versus Malaysia's Todak, to force a tie between all squads.

After a shocking victory which saw Vevo Keyd shock Onic Indonesia, Onic PH and Todak went on to stun viewers with surprise picks, as Muhammad "CikuGais" Danial picked Alucard, and Markyyyyy picked up Faramis.

Cikugais' Alucard was aggressive to start the game, drawing three kills. But Onic PH responded well by taking early-game objectives and gathering the power spike they needed to eventually thrash the MPL-Malaysia runners-up.

With that win, Onic PH, Todak, Vivo Keyd, and Onic Indonesia all had identical 1-1 win-loss records, with Todak eventually sinking Onic Indonesia through a shocker, to secure the first slot in the upper bracket, at the expense of sending the MPL Invitational champions to the lower bracket.

Onic PH vs. Vevo Keyd (Brazil)

Onic PH and Brazil's Vivo Keyd later on fought for the last upper bracket slot, as both remained with 1-1 records, with Onic PH coming out on top behind a dominant game that kept the MPL-Brazil runners-up to just one kill.

Switching up their lineup, Onic PH went on to draft the Aamon for Kairi, after Aamon used it in their clash versus Onic Indonesia.

The clash was a game of chess of sorts to start, with rotations dictating the pace of the game, both squads going kill-less in the first three minutes, and the next kill not coming until the 6th minute mark, as Vivo Keyd leveled.

But Onic PH packed on the aggression and never looked back, taking the next nine kills of which was started by a 3-0 trade at the 8th minute mark, and eventually snowballing to a 10-1 thrashing that placed them atop the group of death.

Todak and Onic Philippines ended the group stages tied with 2-1 records. But Onic PH got the advantage after defeating Todak in their bout. According to the official M3 handbook, tied teams "will be ranked by head-to-head record" if points ranking are identical.

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Baloyskie said they were happy over the outcome, even after falling against Onic Indonesia.

“Masaya kasi na-meet namin ‘yong expectation namin. In-expect namin na mag-come up ng top 1, kahit na do-or die na top 1 kami," Baloyskie said.

Onic Philippines will face whoever ranks second in Group D on Sunday, December 12.

ONIC PH roster
COACH: Paul Denver "Coach Yeb" Miranda

• Allen Jedric "Baloyskie" Baloy (captain)
• Kairi "Kairi" Rayosdelsol
• Gerald "Dlarskie" Trinchera
• Karl Mico "Micophobia" Tarala
• Mark Christian "Markyyyyy" Etcobañez
• Jaylord "Hatred" Gonzales
• Paul Ian "Beemo" Sergio
• Nowee "Ryota" Cabailo