HISTORICALLY, Blacklist International has struggled against dark horse contenders during their first encounter. With Brazil’s RRQ Akira making headlines in the group stages, history could have once again repeated itself.
But while the Brazilian squad tried desperately to fight back, Blacklist was too much for them as the MPL-PH Season 10 champions marched on with a commanding 3-1 win.
Just as ECHO PH booked their own fight against Onic Esports in the semis, Blacklist will now face RRQ Akira's sibling team, RRQ Hoshi, in another Philippines vs. Indonesia battle at the upper bracket.
Blacklist International waxes their Brazilian foes
In Game 1, Blacklist stuck with their signature picks. With Edward “Edward” Dapadap’s Benedetta, Johnmar “OhMyV33nus” Villaluna’s Estes, Salic “Hadji” Imam’s Pharsa, and Danerie James “Wise” Del Rosario’s Barats, the Codebreakers showed that even their standard roster was too much for the Brazilian Kings.
Thirteen minutes and a 15-3 scoreline later, Blacklist emerged as the clearly dominant team.
V33nus’ healing, Edward’s dashes, Wise jungle invasion, and Hadji’s positioning led to Blacklist’s steamroll of the opposition.
And to deliver the finishing touches, Kiel “Oheb” Soriano managed to poke his way and secure key kills, forcing the Brazilian sqaud to collapse in Game 1.
Then, in Game 2, it seemed the Brazilian squad were able to find the response they needed. Initially, targeting OhMyV33nus’ Diggie appeared to slowed down the Codebreakers as it limited the anti-crowd control of the opposition.
Ruthless aggression from Lucas “Kiing” Godoy’s Leomord also added to RRQ Akira's aggression.
But this didn’t faze Blacklist, as the Codebreakers found the perfect response. With Wise and Edward slowly picking up targets and with Oheb making calculated pokes, BLCK was able to storm back. Then along came Hadji, who dictated the tempo of most teamfights.
By the 18th minute, Blacklist was able to find the winning clash and charged their way to a Game 2 win.
Game 3 proved that RRQ Akira still had some fight in them. With Arthur "Tekashi" Nascimento and Luiz "Luiizz" Alves leading the charge with their surprise burst damage setups, and the Brazilian Kings lived to tell the tale with their Game 3 win.
By the start of Game 4, both teams tried to go aggressive. Edward capitalized on Estes' sustainability, dictating the flow of the game with his back-and-forth Benedetta dashes. RRQ, meanwhile, relied on their Chou, Baxia, and Gloo combo.
However, in most of the skirmishes, Blacklist got the upper hand due to V33nus' healing and Hadji's counterattacking usage of the Pharsa ult. This allowed Blacklist to limit RRQ's aggression. With the Brazilian squad finding no answer to Blacklist's composition, the Codebreakers sent them tumbling down to the lower bracket.
With Blacklist victorious, the M4 has shown that the Filipinos are a force to be reckoned with. Both representatives are now at the upper bracket, where both teams will be facing two vengeful Indonesian squads.
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