Blacklist International was coming off a monumental feat in the past year after conquering both the local and international Mobile Legends: Bang Bang stage.
The Tier One-backed squad cemented its name as the best MLBB squad in the world by winning back-to-back MPL Philippines titles and bagging the M3 World Championship in 2021.
With that, it’s safe to say that Blacklist International is indeed the best team in the world at the moment and is without a doubt the best candidate to represent the Philippines in the 31st Southeast Asian Games in Vietnam.
However, questions were raised about the team’s capabilities when host country Vietnam raised the age limit to 18. This ruling barred recently-crowned M3 MVP Kiel “OHEB” Soriano and MPL Philippines Season Seven MVP Edward “Edward” Dapadap from competing in the biennial meet.
Then came the SIBOL National Team Selection.
Banking on newcomers Howard “Owl” Gonzales and Dominic “Dominic” Soto, who were both amateur standouts but have yet to compete in the professional scene, to fill in the void left by their two prized gems, Blacklist International without a doubt exceeded expectations in the meet.
And on Sunday night, the reigning world champions, despite playing without two of the best players in the world, earned the right to represent the Philippines in the upcoming SEA Games by dominating Nexplay EVOS through a 4-1 outing.
And they have Owl and Dominic to thank.
“Yung pagkawala ni Edward saka ni OHEB sobrang laki talagang factor nun, kaya ayun sobrang nag double effort talaga kami para mapunan talaga yung pagkawala nung dalawa,” admitted team captain Johnmar “OhMyV33NUS” Villaluna.
“Pero ayun success naman kaya shout out kay Owl and Dominic. Welcome to Blacklist.”
Danerie “Wise” Del Rosario, Salic “Hadji” Imam, Dexter “DEX STAR” Alaba, OhMyV33NUS, Owl, and Dominic will compose the Philippine national team. Calling the shots are Kristoffer “BON CHAN” Ricaplaza and newly-named assistant coach Aniel “Master the Basics” Jiandani.
The Filipinos are facing a tall order in Vietnam as they are set to defend the Philippines’ title against the likes of Indonesia, Singapore, and Malaysia.
For now, though, the team will get their much-deserved break before gearing up for the Games.
“Ako magpapahinga muna pero ever since M3 ‘di pa ko nakakapagpahinga talaga.”
