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Despite everything, the Sonics could never get back to their world championship form and it cost them dearly.
It was a shocking end to the season for the M6 world champions, and ONIC PH’s coach YnoT really feels the weight of their losses on his shoulders. After getting sent to the lower bracket by Team Liquid, ONIC PH was knocked out by TNC after a full five-game series. It’s the biggest upset of the season as the reigning world champions won’t get a chance to defend their throne.
Coach Anthony “YnoT” Senedrin took awhile to gather his thoughts, but he felt like he dropped the ball this season. ONIC PH had been looking shaky all year, but it really came to the fore this season. Add to that the big meta shift during mid-season, and the team was constantly playing catch-up despite finishing second in the regular season.
“I’m not gonna deny that,” said ONIC PH’s coach YnoT on the mention of their uneven performance. “Isa siya sa pagsisisi ko kasi sa unang talo, titingnan mo yung mga mali, yung dapat i-adjust. Tapos talo nanaman so ire-rework mo nanaman. Ano ba talaga yung problem? It’s small things where it came to a point na hindi ka na sure kung tama ba yung tinitingnan mong mga avenues para maayos yung problem.”
It’s a testament to the Super Family’s skill that they’re still a top team in MPL PH despite these issues. But skill matters less and less when top teams fight each other. Preparation, confidence, and mental fortitude is what gives teams an advantage at the highest level. Unfortunately for ONIC PH, once they lost their swagger, they were never able to find it again.
“It’s very unfamiliar territory for a group of people na nagsama-sama tapos dinurog lahat,” continued ONIC PH’s coach YnoT.
Patching Holes
As coach YnoT puts it, the team was constantly trying to figure out what could work for them all season. And while it’s a team effort, coach YnoT is the one who takes the lead when it comes to these sorts of team development discussions. This one responsibility weighs on him more than others as he feels like he did a poor job in leading his team out of their rut.
He recalls their run during MSC 2025, in particular, having a key moment for them that encapsulates their problems. According to coach YnoT, ONIC PH were ahead of the Fighter Gold Lane meta by first trying it out in MSC 2025. However, their experiment didn’t go as planned, and that led to a downward spiral of uncertainty and second-guessing.
“By the time I saw an opening where we could use it, medyo nawala na yung familiarity,” said ONIC PH’s coach YnoT. “And dahil natalo kami, ang dami sinasabi ng mga tao, we doubted ourselves. So as a leader, yun yung naging problem ko – where hindi ko siya naayos even though kaya pa. Nag-move on ako to the next attempt.”
In the end, coach YnoT did his best but was unable to patch all of his team’s holes and flaws. It was his job to steer ONIC PH down the path to success, and he feels he’s failed to do that.
“First of all, as a leader and a coach, I really take full responsibility sa pagtatalo namin ngayon. Not just for this playoffs series but for the whole year. I have my thoughts, my ideas, but it seems iba dapat yung style after coming from so many victories. It’s something that I have to recalibrate as a coach.”
Banner photo from MOONTON Games.