Blacklist International survived ONIC PH, 3-2, to secure its first playoff victory without the V33Wise duo in the first round of the MPL Philippines Season 12 playoffs, Wednesday at the EVM Convention Center.
The first and only time that the Blacklist International franchise won a playoff series without Johnmar “OhMyV33NUS” Villaluna and Danerie “Wise” Del Rosario was in Season 5 when they took down BSB, 2-1, in the first round of the lower bracket. The duo was still not part of the team then.
On the other hand, this is ONIC PH’s third consecutive 5th-6th place finish.
The Tier One-backed squad opened the series on a high note, dominating ONIC PH to take an early 1-0 lead via a 6-0 Game 1 masterclass in just under 11 minutes of action.
Blacklist International focused on objectives early in the opener, using the zoning capabilities of Kenneth “Yue” Tadeo (Pharsa) and Edward “Edward” Dapadap (Terizla) to allow Stephen “Sensui” Castillo’s Popol and Kupa freely take major objectives.
The team bagged three turtles and six turrets in the first nine minutes of the match before eventually securing the first Lord of the contest entering the 10th minute to finish off the lopsided series.
Unlike the opener, Game 2 saw both squads go neck and neck with ONIC PH getting a slight advantage following a siege that saw them take down Blacklist International’s middle inhibitor turret.
Blacklist International tried to contest the third Lord during the 19th minute but the move backfired following successful initiations from Jomarie “Escalera” Delos Santos (Edith) and Frince “Super Frince” Ramirez (Mathilda) which led to a five-man wipe that evened out the series.
After losing the second match, Blacklist International fought back in Game 3 and established a narrow 3K gold lead in the 13th minute before punishing Escalera’s Edith, who tried to initiate a pickoff, which also led to a kill on Kenneth “Nets” Barro’s Bruno.
This allowed Blacklist International to take the second Lord of the contest and wipe out all of ONIC PH’s turrets. From there, the three-time MPL PH champion squad never looked back and sealed the 2-1 advantage.
ONIC PH seized control early in Game 4, but Blacklist International made a last-ditch attempt to seal the win with a backdoor play initiated by Renejay “Renejay” Barcarse (Mathilda) and Kiel “OHEB” Soriano (Brody).
Unfortunately, the plan fell through as Super Frince (Lylia) and Dean “Raizen” Sumagui (Fredrinn) managed to stop the push, allowing Nets (Irithel) and Mark “Kramm” Rusiana (Uranus) to finish the game over at the other end.
Blacklist International completed the win in Game 5.
Blacklist International will face off against rival and reigning champion ECHO tomorrow, Thursday at 2:00 p.m.
