Estes, the signature hero of Blacklist International Johnmar “OhMyV33NUS” Villaluna, never saw the light of day in the M4 World Championship grand finals, Sunday night.
ECHO banned OhMyV33NUS’ signature hero in all four games of the series and without a doubt, that single decision played a vital role in their dominant 4-0 sweep of the erstwhile champion at the Tennis Indoor Senayan in Jakarta, Indonesia.
When asked why they decided to ban the support hero instead of taking it head-on just like the other teams, ECHO assistant coach and analyst Robert “Trebor” Sanchez said that the decision to take the hero out of the series came to them after hearing OhMyV33NUS’ statements in her previous interviews.
Prior to the finale, the Blacklist International skipper said that one of the reasons why RRQ Hoshi lost to them in the upper bracket semifinals was because they left Estes wide open during the series.
She played Elf King for a grand total of four times in their 3-2 win over the King of Kings last Wednesday.
“Yun nga, sabi nga ni V33 kapag hindi nga bina-ban yung Estes niya auto win [sila]. Kaya napagisip-isip namin na i-ban na lang namin,” Trebor said during the post-match press conference.
“Binigyan niya po kami ng hints para talunin sila, para ma-break yung code,” added the soft-spoken coach.
Trebor, who previously worked with ONIC PH before getting signed up by ECHO, has played an important role in ECHO’s ascent from being a mid-tier team to becoming the undisputed best team in the world.
That’s why team captain Tristan “Yawi” Cabrera made sure to give Trebor his flowers right after their historic win.
“Si coach Treb marami pong on-point na draft niya po na napapansin kaya sobrang laking bagay po na napunta rin po sa amin si coach Treb bilang analyst as assistant coach,” said Yawi.
