By: Jan Marcus Montevirgen
Blacklist International finally secured their much-anticipated first win of MPL Philippines Season 14, dominating TNC Pro Team with a 2-0 sweep on Saturday at the Green Sun Hotel in Makati.
With both teams having completed the first half of the regular season, Blacklist now holds a 1-6 record, while TNC remains winless at 0-7.
In Game 2, Blacklist International trailed by 3k gold early in the match, until a pivotal 13th-minute siege in the mid-lane where they picked off three members of TNC.
This turned the tide for the Codebreakers, who sealed the victory with Salic “Hadji” Imam’s (Lou Yi) game-changing diversion gank from mid to top lane. They wiped out all of TNC’s Phoenix Army members, ending the game in just 15 minutes and 33 seconds with a 22-11 kill score.
Hadji’s game-winning play earned him the match MVP title, finishing with a flawless KDA of five kills and 10 assists.
“Siguro, we never settled for less. Although panalo, pero syempre [may] babaguhin pa rin kaming i-improvise and then i-improve yung mga kailangan i-improve. For now, makakakuha kami ng room to breathe, konting araw para mag-celebrate. Then balik parin kami sa usual routine namin, balik ulit sa pag-grind,” said head coach Kristoffer “BON CHAN” Ricaplaza in the post-match interview.
The opener saw a tightly contested 26-minute battle, with both teams trading blows.
However, with enough items and key abilities available, Kiel “OHEB” Soriano (Natan) and Hadji (Faramis) confidently initiated a three-vs-two team fight near TNC’s mid-lane base turret, successfully picking off two members from TNC before closing out the game with an incoming minion wave.
Looking ahead, Blacklist International will face Smart Omega again on September 13 at 5:00 p.m., while TNC Pro Team will take on Falcons AP.Bren on September 14 at 2:30 p.m. Both matches will take place at the same venue.
