Blacklist International suffered its first loss in the M3 World Championship, Saturday.
And it came at the hands of BloodThirstyKings, a non-MPL squad from North America, via a tight 2-3 result in the first round of the upper bracket at the Suntec Singapore Convention and Exhibition Centre.
With the loss, the back-to-back MPL Philippines champion will have to fight for tournament life down the lower bracket.
The Americans shocked the world in the opener, scoring a massive 14-5 upset win against Blacklist International in 15 minutes and 37 seconds for the quick 1-0 lead.
Michael “MobaZane” Cosgun, who was the lone target of Blacklist International’s bans in the draft, played phenomenal on the Saber with nine kills and three assists without a single death.
MobaZane’s aggressiveness early on gave the Tier One-backed squad – which played its signature Estes for the first time – little to no room to mount a comeback.
After the tough loss, Kiel “OHEB” Soriano came back with an axe to grind in Game Two.
He finished with nine kills and two assists without a single death in the quick 15-3 win.
The match lasted for just 11 minutes and 54 seconds.
It was a nip and tuck affair in Game Three, with BTK taking the early lead.
But great initiations coming from Salic “Hadji” Imam’s Chou put Blacklist at the top with a 16-14 win in 18 minutes and eight seconds. He ended up with a kill, two deaths, and seven assists.
BTK then put up an all-around effort to stun Blacklist International in Game Four, 14-7, in just 15 minutes and 43 seconds.
Shark’s Lolita proved the key in the win with a game-high 13 assists, laced with a kill and a death.
It was total domination from BTK in the decider with Victor’s Esmeralda leading the way in the 12-4 victory in 12 minutes and 57 seconds.
The BTK exp laner had four kills and four assists against just one death in the huge win.
Blacklist International will take on the loser of the Team SMG-Onic Esports match on Tuesday.
