DESPERATE TO end their three-game losing streak, Omega Esports faced a tough foe in Blacklist International at the second day of Season 10's week number five.
In their previous matchup, the Codebreakers grinded all the way to the late game and swept their rivals. And it seemed like history would once again repeat, but Omega Esports managed to surprise the Codebreakers in a grueling 2-1 series win.
Their victory likewise ended the team’s losing slump against the V33Wise tandem since their victory in the Season 8 playoffs.
Raizen and Ch4knu save the day for Omega
If the previous game was a come-from-behind win for Blacklist because of OhMyV33nus’ heroics, the secnd game was a tight affair, even if Blacklist started strong as the trio of Johnmar “OhMyV33nus” Villaluna, Danerie James “Wise” Del Rosario, and Salic “Hadji” Imam pressured the jungle.
The trio caught Blacklist off guard at the early stages, with crowd control courtesy of Hadji and Wise, as well as V33's Mathilda setups.
But then, Omega already had their response as Duane “Kelra” Pillas’ Wanwan became a massive pest. Individual members from the Codebreakers struggled to chase his mobile hero.
Meanwhile, Dean Christian “Raizen” Samagui served as a massive distraction, pressuring key members, especially Wise, inside the jungle. But his ultimate highlight came the 19th minute clash as his Julian would expose Kiel “Oheb” Soriano.
Amid the low HP, he would dance his way past the Filipino Sniper, which eventually led to a surprise Wild Charge play from Joshua “Ch4knu” Mangilog, eliminating Blacklist’s primary damage dealer and the game winning push as Omega sealed the deal in Game 2.
In the decider match, Omega reverted back to their Game 1 approach as OhMyV33nus’ signature Faramis was already chosen. Unfortunately, Balmond was denied, which forced Omega to look for an alternative to their Lolita and Claude combo.
The team opted to use Raizen’s signature Julian, which proved to be an effective threat as his crowd control prowess slowed the aggression from the Codebreakers.
But ultimately, it was Ch4knu who was the game changer in the final game as his surprise Noumenon Blast’s overwhelmed Blacklist. His random setups combined with Kelra’s Blazing Duets sent shockwaves of confusion through the Codebreakers, which was evident during the final play.
Omega realized that the best way to thwart the Faramis base defense was to destroy Blacklist outside the main base, and was definitely effective as Omega finally secured their Game 3 win.