For the first time in a long time, the reigning champion Blacklist International was not favored to win a series.
The Tier One-backed squad headed into their upper bracket semifinals series against the top-ranked Bren Esports as the underdogs after losing both of their regular season match-ups, including a lopsided loss in the second round.
However, Blacklist International, led by Edward “Edward” Dapadap, managed to beat the odds and kicked Bren Esports down to the lower bracket with a 3-1 victory, assuring themselves a top-three finish in the MPL Philippines Season 11.
During the post-match interview, Edward said that he was motivated to get back at Bren Esports, who also chose them to be in their playoff bracket, after losing to them twice via sweep prior to the playoffs.
“Gigil po ako bumawi sa kanila kasi nga po nung regular season hindi kami nanalo sa kanila,” he added.
“So ayun, nagkaroon ako [at] yung team ng chance para makabawi sa kanila lalo ngayong playoffs yung pinakamahalagang match. Pinatunayan namin na kaya namin talaga.”
Edward had a phenomenal performance against Omega Esports in the first round and carried it over to the series against Bren Esports, where he earned the match MVP award in the second game, which turned out to be the longest one in the series.
He delivered seven kills and 13 assists against one death on Terizla in the crucial Game Two, which put them ahead 2-0 against Bren Esports.
Edward and Blacklist International will face the winner of the ECHO-RSG Slate PH upper bracket semifinals.
