AFTER SECURING the number one seed in the MPL playoffs with a 2-0 sweep over their archrivals, Omega Esports, Blacklist gold laner Kiel “OHEB” Soriano is currently under scrutiny for his controversial post-match celebration.
Initially it seemed OHEB was goofing around with his teammate Danerie James “Wise” Del Rosario, until he raised a middle finger in the livestream.
Soriano’s actions violated rule 12.2.1 which states that, “Any action that is generally considered to be insulting (including but not limited to vertical middle finger, hook index finger, etc.) or action prohibited by MPL-PH (choke pose or throat-cutting action) are forbidden to be shown in any place.”
This forced MPL League Ops personnel Joy Roland “Hymnrael” Calulo to post a cryptic message on his official Facebook page. “We saw what happened after the match. Needless to say we will deal with it,” he wrote.
Soon after, Blacklist International posted on their official page that they have punished their star player.
Blacklist apologizes for OHEB gesture
The organization wrote: "The management of Blacklist International would like to apologize to our fans, to OMEGA, and the rest of the MPL and ML community for the unsportsmanlike behavior that our player Oheb displayed after our match. The management has already talked to him in private about the matter and will issue a fine that will be deducted from his salary for his actions."
In addition, it mentioned that OHEB will be issuing a public apology in the team’s post-match interview.
“Oheb acknowledged his behavior and immediately apologized to the rest of the team and the management. He will be issuing his public apology in our post-match interview.”
This wasn’t the first time that this incident happened in the Mobile Legends Professional League. In Indonesia, Tantyo “Doyok” Saputra, a midlaner for Geek Fam ID, was caught red-handed in MPL ID Season 6 doing the same gesture. He was suspended for two matches for his unruly behavior.
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