Renejay “RENEJAY” Barcarse at the roamer role did wonders for Nexplay EVOS.
And it showed on Friday night as the team turned back Blacklist International, 2-1, for its second straight win in MPL Philippines Season Nine.
In a skirmish near Blacklist International’s Serpent pit, RENEJAY used his Flicker-Earth Shatter combo to catch Edward “Edward” Dapadap (Uranus), Dexter “DEX STAR” Alaba (Rafaela), and Kiel “OHEB” Soriano.
Nexplay EVOS converted all three kills while also taking out Salic “Hadji” Imam (Chou) and Kent “Kevier” Lopez (Aulus) next to seal the 11-1 Game Three victory in 14 minutes and 43 seconds.
RENEJAY finished with two kills and eight assists in the win while John Paul “H2wo” Salonga (Paquito) had three kills and four assists without a death.
Nexplay EVOS stayed at the fourth spot with a 2-1 standing.
In the opener, RENEJAY’s Franco starred as Nexplay EVOS bagged a 14-8 Game One win over Blacklist International.
Through his well-timed Iron Hooks, Nexplay EVOS managed to get key pick-offs early in the game which paved the way for a steady late-game performance. The versatile star finished with 10 assists along with two kills and two assists in the 17:01-minute match.
Kent “Kevier” Lopez tried a different touch on Paquito with the Demon Slayer. However, despite taking two Turtle buffs early on, it did not make much of a difference as Blacklist International failed to solve RENEJAY’s Franco exploits.
With both teams picking almost the same set of heroes as Game One in the second match, Nexplay EVOS pretty much repeated what it did in the early game with RENEJAY’s Franco once again making the eye-popping plays.
However, Blacklist International managed to turn the game upside down after getting three kills inside their base. The team then secured the next two Luminous Lords — while also punishing an aggressive Nexplay Esports play inside their base anew — to send the game to a deciding Game Three.
Salic “Hadji” Imam’s Valentina held the fort for Blacklist International, finishing with six kills and eight assists against just two deaths in the 16-11 Game Two win in 20 minutes and 17 seconds.
Blacklist International dropped to 0-3 in the standings.
Next up for Nexplay EVOS is Bren Esports on Sunday at 6:00 PM while Blacklist International looks to barge into the win column against ECHO earlier that day at 4:00 PM.
