Blacklist International claimed the M3 World Championship after sweeping fellow Filipino squad ONIC Philippines, 4-0, in the grand finals at the Suntec Singapore Convention and Exhibition Centre on Sunday night.
This is the second consecutive time that a squad based from the Philippines bagged the world title after Bren Esports won it all in the previous edition early this year.
The Blacklist International-ONIC PH grand finals showdown also marked the first time that two Filipino teams reached the grand finals at the same time.
While the series may have produced a lopsided result, the Tier One-backed squad had to go through a tough ONIC PH squad en route to the championship.
With Kiel “OHEB” Soriano (Clint) saddled with early deaths, Salic “Hadji” Imam (Pharsa) stepped up to lead Blacklist International’s 18-14 come-from-behind Game One win in 21 minutes and four seconds.
ONIC PH got the upper hand in the opener all thanks to Marky “Markyyyyy” Capacio’s (Lylia) back-to-back solo kills on OHEB inside the first three minutes of the match.
Hadji, who played huge in the mid-game team fights that allowed Blacklist International’s comeback, finished with a 3-1-7 KDA line.
Coming off a dismal outing in the opener, OHEB made sure to come back with a bang in Game Two.
He led Blacklist International to a quick 19-7 win in the second match for an early 2-0 series advantage.
The 17-year-old gold laner finished with a game-high eight kills to go along with eight assists and a death in just 13 minutes and 40 seconds of game time.
Blacklist International once again kept its composure intact to come out victorious in Game Three, 20-17, in 21 minutes and seven seconds.
Edward “EDWARD” Dapadap’s Esmeralda keyed the win with five kills, four deaths, and seven assists in the win.
Blacklist International then bagged the title via a 15-7 win in Game Four.
