The Matchup Nobody Could Ignore
RRRQ Hoshi and ONIC Epic had been circling each other for most of the regular season. By the time they met in the grand final, the tension was thick enough to cut with a knife. I was watching from my cramped apartment in Jakarta, beer going warm on the desk, knowing I wasn't going to sleep. This isn't just about who wins. This is about what the series reveals about the current meta, about how both organizations approach different situations, and about which coach can adjust faster mid-game. I've been covering MPL since season six, and I can tell you this was one of the most strategically dense finals we've seen in a while. Let me walk you through what happened, because the broadcast doesn't tell you everything. The VOD tells a slightly different story.
Opening Game Analysis
RRRQ came out aggressive in game one. Their draft centered around a hyper-carry Marksman package with Larasa on marksman and a dedicated engage support. I noticed immediately that their jungler, Estrella, was playing the early invades harder than usual. He was invading Onic's jungle at three minutes, not five. That's an aggressive call that usually signals either extreme confidence or a specific scouted pattern from their side. Onic's response was patient. They let him take the buffs but didn't rotate to contest. I thought that was a mistake at the time, but looking back it was deliberate. They were saving their disables for the mid-game team fights where it actually mattered. Their captain, Justin Blue, was playing a roam-style support that positioned behind the fight rather than initiating. It's a counter-play to RRQ's engage style. The early game went roughly even. Both teams traded kills but neither gained meaningful gold lead. Around the seven-minute mark is where game one really split open. RRQ forced a fight over the Tyrant when Onic was missing their support. Estrella caught up with a well-timed stun chain. That kill opened up the map. RRRQ took Tyrant, then rotated for Lord. Onic could only watch from the fountain.
The Lord push was textbook RRQ execution. Three separate engages, two successful picks, and Onic lost three members before the base turrets fell. First game to RRQ in approximately eighteen minutes.
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Game Two Adjustments
This is where it got interesting. Onic made two significant changes to their draft. First, they picked a split-push composition with Tigra on top lane and a fast-clearing jungler. Second, they gave their marksman, Toddy, early armor items instead of the usual damage build path. I noticed this shift during the draft phase. Most people missed it, but it was a direct answer to RRQ's burst damage composition from game one. The strategy was simple: make RRQ chase them across the map while the base turrets burn down. If they can force RRQ to waste time clearing waves, they win by attrition rather than by team fighting. For the first ten minutes, it worked perfectly. Onic split pushed top lane relentlessly. RRQ had to send two members to clear, which meant they couldn't rotate for objectives. Onic took Dragon every time it spawned. The gold deficit for RRQ climbed to around three thousand by the fifteen-minute mark.
Then Michael Ananda changed the game. He played a carry-focused Marksman with an unusually early endgame item. By twenty-two minutes, he had two items that one-shot the entire Onic team. When he caught up with a lone Tigra, the fight was over instantly. RRQ won the subsequent teamfight 4-for-0 and took the base. That moment in game two was the turning point of the series. Everything after that was just cleanup.
What Made RRQ Win
There are a few key factors here. First is their macro play. RRQ understood when to push and when to freeze. They didn't throw themselves at Onic's defense head-on. Instead, they picked their moments carefully and executed them without hesitation. Second is their shotcalling. During the series, Onic seemed to react to RRQ's movements rather than initiating their own. That's a problem at the grand final level. You can't afford to be reactive when your opponent is this disciplined. Third is the individual skill gap in the late game. When fights stretched past twenty minutes, RRQ's players consistently came out ahead. This isn't just about mechanics. It's about game sense, positioning, and the ability to read the opponent's cooldowns. RRRQ's captain, Ilham, had been playing these extended fights better than anyone in the league for months.
The Onic Perspective
I don't want to diminish Onic's effort here. They adapted well. Their draft choices showed they understood RRQ's strengths and attempted to neutralize them. The split-push strategy in game two was creative and nearly worked. But creativity without execution is just a plan on paper. Onic's biggest issue throughout the series was their vision control. They consistently lost the river area around fourteen to eighteen minutes, which is the critical power spike window in the current meta. Without vision there, they couldn't contest objectives and they couldn't set up ambushes. It's a fundamental problem that no amount of drafting can fix if your players aren't warding properly. I spoke with a former Onic analyst after the series. He told me that their practice schedule leading into the finals had been disrupted by roster changes. They'd been practicing different compositions during scrims and never found the right one. That showed in game five when they still hadn't developed a consistent identity.
Final Series Score and Standings
RRRQ won the series 4-1. The games were close in the middle but by the end. Game three and four both went past twenty-five minutes and required decisive teamfighting to close out. The MVP of the series went to Ilham for his consistent frontline play and clutch engages. Tied close behind was Estrella for his map pressure and objective control. Onic's best performer was Toddy, whose late-game carries kept them competitive in most games.
What This Means Going Forward
RRRQ's championship run puts them firmly at the top of the MPL ID hierarchy for this split. But the league structure means another season will bring new metas, new drafts, and new challenges. Onic will regroup and come back stronger. That's how esports works. For the rest of the league, this series serves as a case study in macro play versus micro adaptation. RRQ showed that disciplined execution beats creative drafting when the fundamentals are solid. Onic proved that even a well-designed strategy fails without proper vision and coordination. Next season's meta shifts will favor teams that can adapt quickly. RRQ has proven they can. Whether they can maintain that adaptability against incoming rosters from APC and other regional leagues remains to be seen.
I'll be covering the next split closely. This league keeps getting better, and the RRQ versus Onic rivalry is only going to grow more intense.
