Blacklist International became the third team to punch a ticket in the playoffs after a 2-1 reverse sweep of Onic Philippines in the penultimate week of the Mobile Legends: Bang Bang Professional League (MPL) Philippines Season 11 at the Shooting Gallery Studios in Makati on Friday.
The three-time MPL PH champions improved to 7-4 with 20pts to boost their upper-bracket chances. Onic on the other hand fell to 4-8 with 13pts but held onto the sixth spot.
Assistant coach Dexter “DEX STAR” Alaba lauded Onic who provided them with a tough match-up, needing to mount a comeback in the decider to take the series.
“Actually since second na naming magkakaharap, napag-aralan na rin namin yung gameplay nila. Talagang magaling lang yung Onic, lalo na sa mga turtle fights and lord fight,” he said.
In Game 1, Blacklist was holding onto a slim lead when Jefferdson “Kekedot” Mogol (Lolita) executed a three-man 17th-minute numenoun blast three-man Noumenon Blast set-up that sparked a 3-1 trade-off.
Kenneth “Nets” Barro (Beatrix) then locked in on the base turret in the ensuing sequence to complete the reverse win, 1-0.
Game 2 boiled down to a 23rd-minute lord dance that saw Edward “EDWARD” Dapadap (Joy) employ a nifty backline attack to single-handedly take down two enemy heroes and help Blacklist secure the evolved lord.
The Codebreakers wasted no time in invading the enemy base at the 24th minute to force a rubber match, 1-1.
Blacklist then turned back an early game 5k deficit with a clutch 16th-minute lord dance then punished Onic’s overaggression in the 20th minute to score a 2-0 pick-off.
The M3 world champions used the advantage to force the issue in the midlane and complete the reverse sweep.
