BLACKLIST RIVALRY tried numerous attempts to reach their goal of attending the majors of the Dota 2 scene, but unfortunately their efforts were futile.
After sticking with their so-called Filipino dream team, Blacklist decided to make their first roster change.
Support player and captain, Nico "Eyyou" Barcelon will officially leave the team as announced on their Facebook post.
In their post they said: "Today we say thank you and farewell to our support and captain, Nico “Eyyou” Barcelon."
"Entering a new esports title always comes with multiple tough decisions, and in the beginning, we wanted to try to field the best possible full-Filipino roster we could to represent Blacklist in the Dota 2 scene."
"After two tries and failing to make the Majors, a change was needed for our roster to take things in a new direction. After discussions with the team and management, we have decided that this will be our best way to move forward."
"We are committed to trying to qualify for TI and will be making further announcements on our roster soon."
Possible Eyyou replacements
Prior to his arrival to Blacklist, Eyyou was part of that "Miracle of Ti6" squad back in 2016, when TNC stunned the Dota 2 world when they eliminated the heavy favorites OG. Afterwards he journeyed across numerous teams namely Fnatic and Polaris.
With his departure, the team will have a hole in their position 5 role. If ever they wish to pursue their 'Filipino dream team' approach, the likes of Julius "Julz" De Leon and Ralph Richard "RR" Penano could be their options.
They may also send Carlo "Kuku" Palad as a position 5 player, similar to what TNC did before when he was a part of the team. If Kuku transitions as a pos 5 player with Blacklist, the Codebreakers can acquire Kim "Gabbi" Villafuerte Santos.
Another alternative would be utilizing Michael "ninjaboogie" Ross Jr. as a support player, to make way for Kimuel "Kim0" Rodis to coach the team, given that the latter has published videos on his YouTube channel, highlighting the weaknesses of the Codebreakers.
Or perhaps Blacklist can also opt to go for an international prospect, like that time in 2016 when TNC had Jimmy "DeMoN" Ho or in 2017 with Sivatheeban "1437" Sivanathapillai.
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