Blacklist International will have to go through another season without their top stars, Johnmar “OhMyV33NUS” Villaluna and Danerie “Wise” Del Rosario, as the two have opted to skip the upcoming MPL Philippines Season 12.
The last time the power duo sat out was back in Season 9, when Blacklist International failed to adjust in time. That resulted in them missing the playoffs for the first time since joining the league in Season 5.
“We know that the past couple of weeks have been filled with rumors and uncertainty regarding our legendary duo, VeeWise,” said Blacklist International after announcing their roster for the upcoming MPL PH season.
“Now that we’ve announced our official roster for MPL Season 12, we can now also confirm that VeeWise will not be participating in the upcoming season. After the consecutive seasons and tournament grind of MPL S10, M4, MPL S11, and MSC, they wanted to take some time away to recharge and recover.”
Despite the absence of OhMyV33NUS and Wise, the returning Kiel “OHEB” Soriano and Edward “Edward” Dapadap feel confident that the rest of the team can pick up the slack and avoid another losing season.
Both OHEB and Edward were part of the Blacklist International squad that finished Season 9 with a league-worst 3-11 win-loss record. According to OHEB, that same experience is what actually prepared them for this moment.
“Yung season na yon gulo gulo kasi kami parang hindi masyadong prepared kasi nagkasabay yung SEA games tsaka yung MPL which is hati yung practice namin. So yung MPL team namin mas nag-focus sa SEA Games tas yung practice namin noon halos one week lang,” recalled the M3 World Championship Finals MVP.
“Tingin ko [sobrang] ready na kami kasi marami naman na kaming experiences, marami na rin naman na silang [V33Wise] naitulong sa amin na kayanin this season. Tapos beterano naman din yung mga kasama ko kaya ready na ready kami,” he added.
Unlike the last time when they only had a week to prepare, Blacklist International started gearing up for the upcoming season right after the team’s silver medal campaign in the 2023 Mobile Legends: Southeast Asia Cup.
Edward believes that their extended preparation will yield positive results in MPL Philippines Season 12.
“Siguro ano, mahaba naman yung preparation eh. So sa tingin ko kakayanin naman yung practice para okay na yung chemistry namin sa bagong lineup. So practice lang,” Edward said.
