Blacklist International banked on its mental fortitude and vast tournament experience in fending off a young and gutsy Bren Esports in their upper bracket semifinals matchup in the MPL Philippines Season 10 playoffs, Friday.
After winning the opening game, the Tier One-backed squad dropped two consecutive games which put them at a clear disadvantage against a very motivated Bren Esports squad.
With their backs against the wall, the Johnmar “OhMyV33NUS” Villaluna-led Blacklist International scored a dominant Game Four victory before showing great composure in the series-clinching Game Five win which lasted for more than 26 minutes.
“Siguro yung pinaka number one edge namin sa kanila is yung mental fortitude talaga namin regardless if down kami ng 2-1. Alam pa rin namin, nasa composure pa rin kami kung paano manalo,” said OhMyV33NUS right after exhausting five-game series.
“Yung pangalawang edge namin is yung tournament experience talaga kasi sobrang batak din kami mag-laro sa mga ganitong klaseng ambiance and ganito karaming audience,” she added.
The newly-crowned Most Valuable Player said that Bren Esports played beyond their expectations which definitely caught them off guard.
She is also confident that the Francis “Duckey” Glindro-coached squad, who was coming off a huge 3-2 upset win against Omega Esports yesterday, will definitely be a problem for the rest of the MPL Philippines field moving forward.
“Parang actually more than sa ineexpect pa namin yung pinakita nila kaya sobrang saludo ako sa Bren ngayon,” said OhMyV33NUS. “Sobrang legit. Feeling ko sobrang mahihirapan yung mga susunod na makakalaban nila,” she added.
Blacklist International head coach Kristoffer “Bon Chan” Ricaplaza echoed his skipper’s statements, saying that Bren Esports’ performance against them already proves that they are no fluke.
(C) MPL PH
“Kaya sinasabi namin na Bren ang lason ngayong season dahil yung ineexpect ng karamihan ng fans ngayon iba ang inaasahan nila na top teams, like inaasahan nila yung Omega, ECHO, RSG pero itong Bren kasi underdogs sila na alam natin na kaya nila tumalo ng top teams,” said Bon Chan.
“Kita niyo naman yung performance nila kahit natalo talagang napaabot ng Game 5 umaabot ng 25 minutes, 30 minutes, grabe yung performance nila ngayong season grabe yung inimprove nila,” he added.
After figuring in a five-set nail-biter against the former world champs, OhMyV33NUS hopes for one thing as they move forward to the upper bracket finals series tomorrow.
“Sana hindi na namin sila (Bren Esports) makatapat ulit.”
