What's wrong with ONIC in Season 13? Is this the downfall of the most dominant team in MPL Indonesia's history?
During Week 3 and 4 of MPL Indonesia Season 13, ONIC just tasted three surprising losses against AURA Fire, Rebellion Esports, and Dewa United before returning to winning ways, defeating top-of-the-table Bigetron Esports.
As the most dominant team in MPL Indonesia's history, three upsets in a row is not a good look for ONIC. Furthermore, it caused them to lose the top of the table to Bigetron Esports. Currently, they are second in the leaderboard, tying with AURA Fire in points.
One question remains with how things lined up: Is this the beginning of ONIC's crumble? We try to analyse and dissect the cause of this so-called downfall of ONIC. Could they return to their winning ways after the break?
The "downfall" of the great team
So what happened? Well, we can trace it back to what Adi or Yeb did for ONIC in those three series: Player Rotation. In those three series, ONIC didn't field all five of the same players from their previous series.
When facing AURA Fire, they fielded Alberttt instead of Butss in the EXP Lane and while the former is as talented, he emanated a different pressure than the latter in the lane. It did work for the first game, but when AURA realised it, they flipped the switch and turned the narration around.
This trend continued in the next series against Rebellion Esports; ONIC benched Alberttt to make way for the returning Butss. A good result is expected in ONIC's lineup, especially when they play a supposed easy series. However, ONIC looked uncomfortable facing the uniquely lined Blue Bulls of MPL Indonesia.
With two series losses, ONIC again changed their lineup to a new set of players, including Lutpiii from their academy team. Butsss was again replaced in the EXP Lane. This time, CW is also replaced by Alberttt. Again, ONIC could have looked more comfortable playing against DEWA United as they dismantled the defending champion in a 2-1 series.
Three different sets of players, three losses. Their experiment didn't bring a positive result in the league.
Return to winning ways
Now, with three losses in a row and then facing the most in-form team in the league, it seems rather unbelievable that ONIC got their winning ways back in time. However, they did so in a stellar way, taking Bigetron Alpha down in a convincing 2-0 win.
How did they do that? Well, maybe they are playing better, but one thing for sure is that ONIC didn't change their EXP Lane after their 2-1 loss against DEWA United. CW also making his comeback to the team replacing Alberttt in the Gold Lane.
Lutpii looked more comfortable in his position in ONIC's lineup, contrary to his performance against the aforementioned team. So, is it already a fixed lineup with Lutpii in the EXP Lane and Butsss out of the team? We didn't know for sure. However, it is interesting to see that the one time they didn't change the lineup was the moment they got a win.
The solution after the break
So, what's the solution? Was it maintaining the current lineup until the end of the season? Well, maybe. It is a chemistry-focused esports—there is no reason to change, just for change's sake. However, we still commend Adi and Yeb for their attempt to experiment with the lineup.
It is crucial to have a backup plan in case a disaster happens. Can ONIC tanked those three losses? Well, if they are going to win the rest of the season, they absolutely can.
The experiments gave Lutpii an experience in the top league of Indonesia's Mobile Legends and the coaches a glimpse of what they have in their arsenal.
Can they maintain their winning ways with the team even if they want to experiment with their lineup? Only time will tell. However, Adi and Yeb knew they had two reliable backups if they needed to change things up.
