Blacklist International sustained their momentum and defeated the regular season leader Bren Esports, 3-1, to reach the upper bracket finals of the Mobile Legends: Bang Bang Professional League (MPL) Philippines Season 11 playoffs at the SMX Convention Center in Pasay City on Friday.
The Tier One-backed squad delivered a superb performance in the playoffs after going 0-4 against Bren in the regular season. They are now awaiting the winner of the RSG Slate Philippines and Echo matchup to dispute the first ticket to the MLBB Southeast Asian Cup 2023.
Despite their losses in the regular season, Blacklist won all the games with their signature Estes pick in the playoffs. Against Bren, they won Games 1, 2 and 4 when Bren decided to open the hero for the Codebreakers.
“Yung unang beses namin silang nakalaban tinalo nila kami dalawang beses ng Estes. And medyo dominating talaga yun. Alam na kasi namin kung ano yung nangyari dun kaya di na nila maulit ngayon,” said head coach Aniel “MasterTheBasics” Jiandani on why Estes translated into wins this time around.
“Tingin ko nasubukan nila kalabanin yung Estes [nung regular season] and tingin nila kaya talaga kaya nilabanan nila ngayon. And possible pinaghahandaan din nila kung sakaling mas tumaas pa yung stage na magkaharap kami. Pwedeng tinatry na nila ngayon kesa matry nila sa susunod,” he added.
Game 1 was a lopsided affair with Blacklist dominating from the beginning, thanks to the sustain provided by Johnmar “OhMyV33NUS” Villaluna’s Estes. They took the opener with a 12-2 kill score, led by Lee Howard “Owl” Gonzale’s (Karrie) 4-1-2 KDA.
It was a close game in Game 2, with both teams exchanging leads until Edward “Edward” Dapadap caught Marco “Super Marco” Requitano (Beatrix) from the backline with the Penalty Zone during a lengthy 25th-minute team fight that led to a 3-1 exchange. Blacklist then put pressure on the top and bottom lanes, which helped Owl (Claude) finish off the base turret in the 26th minute.
Bren was not to be outdone though as they slowly found their groove in Game 3, spearheaded by Angelo “Pheww” Arcangel’s peskiness with the Joy pick that set the tone in the win built around a 9-2 kill tally.
With their signature Estes in tow for Game 4, Blacklist was able to secure the first two lords of the match, booking a return trip to the upper bracket finals.
