Blacklist International has yet to drop back-to-back games in the MPL Philippines with Johnmar “OhMyV33NUS” Villaluna and Danerie “Wise” Del Rosario on the roster.
That, until Karl “KarlTzy” Nepomuceno spearheaded ECHO’s reverse 2-1 sweep of Blacklist International, who was coming off a tough loss against ONIC PH, in Season 10 at the ICITE Auditorium.
ECHO moved to 4-1 in the standings – good for third place while Blacklist International dropped to 3-2 after winning its first three games of the tournament.
With the series tied at 1-all, both teams figured in a tight tug of war for the Lord entering the 16th minute.
ECHO, though, got the upper hand after Alston “Sanji” Placibo (Yve) popped his Real World Manipulation at the right time which fended off Blacklist International members while Tristan “Yawi” Cabrera (Franco) used his Bloody Hunt on Danerie “Wise” Del Rosario’s Balmond which prevented him from making a play for the Lord.
That proved to have sealed the win as ECHO went for the game-winning siege in the 17th minute.
Benedict “Bennyqt” Gonzales (Wanwan) scored five kills and two assists against one death in the Game Three win while Sanji posted a clean 2-0-10 KDA line for ECHO.
“Pinaghandaan namin sila nang mabuti kasi world champs sila tapos kami medyo yung last season namin medyo pangit yung nangyari sa amin. Kaya nung makakalaban namin sila talagang pinaghandaan namin sila nang sobra,” said ECHO assistant coach Robert “Trebor” Sanchez.
Blacklist International got its much-needed break in Game One after Edward “Edward” Dapadap (Paquito) picked off Karl “KarlTzy” Nepomuceno (Julian) in the 10th minute.
ECHO got a return kill on Johnmar “OhMyV33NUS” Villaluna’s Diggie but that did not stop the Tier One-backed squad from securing the Lord. Kiel “OHEB” Soriano (Irithel) snagged a triple kill during that span that gave Blacklist International the lead.
A five-man wipe during the 16th minute gave Blacklist International the first win in the series.
Salic “Hadji” Imam (Xavier) delivered four kills and 13 assists against one death while OhMyV33NUS recorded a game-high 17 assists to go along with two kills and four deaths in the 19-10 Game One win in 16 minutes and 56 seconds.
ECHO quickly recovered after that Game One loss, putting on a dominant performance in Game Two that saw them take an 11-0 lead in the first nine minutes of the match. ECHO eventually ran away with a 17-5 win in 14 minutes of 38 seconds.
Tristan “Yawi” Cabrera (Rafaela) had a game-high 13 assists along with two deaths while KarlTzy had a game-high seven kills and four assists against one death.
ECHO will go up against RSG PH on Saturday at 4:00 PM while Blacklist International looks to end its two-game skid against TNC on the same day at 8:00 PM.
