Blacklist International survived two deathmatches to emerge from the play-ins and reach the upper bracket after a 3-1 conquest of Fnatic ONIC Philippines in the MPL Philippines Season 13 Playoffs at the SM Southmall on Wednesday.
With the win, Tier One-backed Blacklist International forged a rematch of last season’s grand finals against Team Falcons AP.Bren in the upper bracket semi-finals.
After conceding a lopsided loss in the opener, Kenneth “Yue” Tadeo (Vexana) played phenomenally in Game 2, finishing with a 2-1-11 KDA, highlighted by a 24th-minute two-man Eternal Guard knock-up that sparked a game-winning 4-0 wipe.
It was Salik “Hadji” Imam’s (Edith) turn in Game 3 as his initiations helped Blacklist establish a 3-0 lead on the kill score midway through the 2nd minute.
The three-time MPL PH champions maintained control from there and comfortably reached match point with a 14-minute victory. Hadji took the MVP citation with a 3-2-6 KDA.
Edward “Edward” Dapadap (Arlott) then delivered the series-clinching play in Game 4, taking Duane “Kelra” Pillas (Claude) during a late 18th-minute scramble that enabled Blacklist to secure the lord and mount a game-winning midlane push.
Earlier in the day, Blacklist had to survive a close 3-2 win over MINANA Evos in the first do-or-die match.
Yue played perfectly in the closeout game, compiling five kills and four assists against zero deaths using a surprising Pharsa pick to arrange a showdown against ONIC for the last ticket to the upper bracket.
