Finishing the first half of the season with just two wins, Blacklist International finds itself within the danger zone of missing the playoffs.
Seeing this, Renejay “Reneajay” Barcase, who decided to rest for MPL Philippines Season 13, extended a helping hand to the team.
“Siya yung lagi kong nakakausap kapag nada-down ako,” said Kim “Kimpoy” Cruz of Renejay.
“Nagtutulungan kasi kami ngayon eh. Kung ano ‘yung ginagawa niya dati, pinapasa niya sa akin ngayon para maging maayos ‘yung laro ko. Ngayon nagsisimula pa lang ulit ako kasi ngayong week pa lang ako nakapag-practice ulit. Talagang malaki ‘yung hinahabol ko ngayon.”
With the introduction of the recent patches and the continuously shifting meta, Blacklist admits to getting left behind in terms of adjusting to the meta. However, Renejay provided them with advice that resonated with Kimboy.
(C) MPL PH
“Lagi niyang sinasabi sa akin na kaya pa namin, ganun. Sinasabi niya lagi sa amin na ibalik lang namin ‘yung mga ginagawa namin dati kasi ‘yung mga past few weeks na scrim namin parang tinatry namin humabol sa meta kasi sobrang daming bago ngayon,” shared Kimpoy about what Renejay told the team.
“Yung tumatak na sinabi sa akin ni Renejay ‘yung, ‘Kung saan tayo nanalo, doon natin ibalik ‘yung laro natin’. Tanggalin natin lahat ‘yung nagpapagulo sa draft, sa game, katulad ng mga Masha ganun.”
The absence of Renejay has left a big hole in Blacklist in terms of decisive shotcalling, and Kimpoy is trying to slowly fill that role for the team according to coach Kristoffer “BON CHAN” Ricaplaza.
“Parang meron na silang tumatayong kuya or somehow leader. Siguro papunta siya dun sa point ng pagiging leader or kuya ng team. Something na kaya nilang pakinggan sa oras ng mga crucial moments,” said BON CHAN of Kimpoy.
Despite getting a boost from Renejay, who helped lead the team to a third-place finish in the M5 World Champion as the starting roamer, Kimpoy acknowledges that they still have a long way to go before duplicating Blacklist’s spirited run in Season 12.
“Ngayon kulang pa rin talaga kasi sobrang naghahabol pa kami,” he said.
